


we should just kiss (like real people do)

by PANDESOO



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Boys Kissing, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 08:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14667429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PANDESOO/pseuds/PANDESOO
Summary: Like always, all the things he wants the say to Kyungsoo—all his feelings, they get stuck in his throat, and he just lets them settle there. Fill up his chest, make it grow so big from the love he can’t express.So, he compromises.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #181:** University students Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Baekhyun are friends and living together to share expenses. Things are not so smooth when two dance majors Jongin and Sehun befriend Kyungsoo and the others think that he is drifting away from them. Especially Chanyeol, who can't seem to understand why Jongin and Sehun are clinging to Soo, who he considers his. 
> 
> To the prompter, this may have turned out different from what you expected ._. I'm so sorry! But, I had a lot of fun writing this (despite the many occasions in which I pondered about dropping it oops) so I hope you'll like it!  
> To the mods of this fest, thank you for the endless patience. To my lovely beta Frey, thank you for your hard work! To K, thank you for hyping me up throughout our semesters. And for everyone else, I hope you support every single fic and writer in this fest! Cheers to round 1!!

Chanyeol doesn’t want to take the car.

“We could’ve just _walked._ ” Chanyeol reasons easily, adjusting the passenger seat so he can slump as far backwards as possible. “Or take the bus. The cinema isn’t _that_ far away.”

“Yeah, but we have a _car,_ ” Kyungsoo says back, refusing to take his eyes off the road. “And I have a license. Both of which I don’t get to use often, considering that Baekhyun hogs the car all week round, even if I pay most for gas and— _Chanyeol get your feet off the dashboard!”_

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, but lowers his feet anyway. “Nobody asks you to pay more for gas.”

“Yeah, but if I stop, this thing wouldn’t even make it out of the driveway every morning.” 

“But global warming—”

“Fuck global warming.” Kyungsoo snaps, although his tone doesn’t really cut at Chanyeol. He’s used to it. “If I want to drive the car, I _will_ drive the damn car.”

“If the Ozone layer disintegrates, I’m going to kick you out of the house and let you die in the heat.”

“Which won’t really happen, because I’ll be _driving the car_ and will leave your prissy eco-friendly ass behind.”

“Make a left!” Chanyeol suddenly shouts, causing the other boy to flinch and nearly miss the turn. Kyungsoo gives him a sideward glare, and the tall boy simply just laughs and settles down on the passenger seat once again.

The drive to the cinema continues in comfortable silence, air punctuated by the occasional ding of Chanyeol’s phone as he tells Baekhyun that no, he’s not driving, it’s Kyungsoo who’s driving, therefore reassuring Baek that the two of them won’t die in a fiery accident. 

The windows are down, thanks to the car’s broken air conditioning, and the two of them talk about the next cover they’ll be collaborating on whilst feeling the warm summer night air brushing by their faces.

Chanyeol wants to do another R&B piece, because he loves the way Kyungsoo’s vocals fall in between the symphony of his guitar, his piano, his beatbox—but Kyungsoo vetoes his idea in favor of something else.

“Anything but R&B again,” he says. “Don’t you have any other ideas for variety?”

“But you sound great with R&B.” Chanyeol argues.

“Yeah, and I know that, so I want to do something different.”

 _With the way he’s managing things,_ Chanyeol muses. _You’d think that_ he _was the music major._

Truthfully, he just wanted to rope Kyungsoo into singing some more of the genre, but oh well. He supposes Kanye can wait another time.

“How about a country song, then?” Chanyeol jjokes after a few moments of silence. “You know, Billy Ray Cyrus or something.”

Kyungsoo snorts, pressing his lips into a thin line. Even when he looks away, Chanyeol knows he’s tickled his funny bone.

“I mean, just _imagine,_ ” Chanyeol continues, leaning in to Kyungsoo’s space to try and see the smile forming on his lips. Kyungsoo just presses it into a thinner line. “You’ll sound so hot. People are going to want you to sign their banjoes or something. You’ll be a star! _You can’t break my heart, my achy breaky heart—”_

Chanyeol’s shitty impersonation of a country accent is cut short by Kyungsoo slapping his face away.

They arrive at the run-down cinema of the city minutes later. The moment Kyungsoo kills the engine, Chanyeol jumps out of the car, bouncing up and down as he urges Kyungsoo to hurry up.

Usually, there’s a line for tickets just outside the entrance, but since they were a few minutes late, the movie had already started and no one was there to greet them. Even the ticket booth was empty, much to Chanyeol’s dismay.

“Are they closed already?” Chanyeol looks around nervously.

“They don’t close until the final showing finishes.” Kyungsoo tutts. Impatiently, he knocks on the clear class window, and like magic, a familiar head pops up from behind the counter.

“I’m awake!” a drowsy boy with pink hair greets them with a yawn. To Chanyeol’s surprise, he recognizes him as that star freshman from the dance troupe he’s been seeing a lot of. He’s even more surprised by the bright smile that spreads across the boy’s when his eyes land on Kyungsoo, whose gaze is trained on his wallet, counting money.

Judging from the excitement on the boy’s face, he seemed to be five seconds away from lunging at Kyungsoo, if it weren’t for the thick glass window separating them.

“Hi, Kyungsoo-hyung,” the boy tries to greet coolly, but in Chanyeol’s head he’d already grown brown dog ears, and a tail that was thumping frantically. A puppy waiting for his master to notice him.

Chanyeol watches as Kyungsoo finally looks up from his wad of cash and gives the pink-haired boy a small smile. “Oh. Hi, Jongin. What’re you doing here?”

Jongin— _Kim Jongin,_ Chanyeol finally remembers. _Kim Jongin, the star of the freaking dance troupe—_ smiles shyly and runs a hand through his hair. “Oh. Um. I’m working part-time with Sehun. We’re planning to buy an apartment outside of campus in our second year, just like you, hyung.”

“That’s great.” Although a bit flat, Chanyeol knows from years of knowing Kyungsoo that he actually means it, in that tone.

Jongin seems to know this, too, because his smile grows a few inches, and his animated dog tail wags even faster in Chanyeol’s wild imagination.

Chanyeol clears his throat. Jongin blinks, and his gaze trails over to him. He seems surprised to see him there, standing right next to Kyungsoo. “Oh, hi, hyung.” Jongin greets, although it’s a bit lackluster compared to the way he greeted Kyungsoo earlier.

“Hey,” despite the uncomfortable pull in his gut, Chanyeol smiles for the sake of cordiality and puts his hand out for a handshake through the small hole of the cashier window. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Chanyeol.”

“Jongin,” Jongin takes his hand and shakes it. His imaginary dog ears droop and his tail slows down. “I’m—sorry? But are you on a date?”

Although the question is directed to him, Chanyeol is cut off by Kyungsoo scoffing. He drops a few bills unto the counter—it’s his turn to pay for movie night, after all. “No, we’re not on a date. We’ll just take two tickets, thanks.”

Jongin smiles bashfully. “Okay.  That’s great.”

Chanyeol doesn’t like what he seems to mean by _that._

Although Jongin is quick to hand over the change and tickets, he draws Kyungsoo into a small conversation, holding them back from entering the movie theater already.

By all means, Chanyeol is happy to meet new people, especially ones that seems as interesting as Kim Jongin, so he tries his best to keep up with the conversation, but it’s obvious that all Jongin is interested in listening to is Kyungsoo. He doesn’t mind feeling left out, but really, he doesn’t miss the way Jongin’s eyes sparkle whenever Kyungsoo chuckles, doesn’t like the way he leans in close and smiles softly whenever Kyungsoo talks—

 “I thought we were going to watch the movie, Soo.” Chanyeol suddenly butts in, cheerfully but already approaching the edge of his long patience. Kyungsoo turns to Chanyeol with a frown, a _what the hell is wrong with you?_  written across his face. 

Chanyeol returns with a pout that says, _so I get that you’re having fun talking to this Jongin kid, but we’re already fifteen minutes late even though we took the car and now the Ozone layer’s depleting and the movie is starting so can we please please please go in already I’ve been dying to get a hold of you this entire week and would really want to watch this movie to spend some quality time with you, stop flirting with that Jongin kid and get in the stupid theater with me Kyungsoo._

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows. Wait—did he actually get all of that?

“Right, right. Sorry, Yeol. But, hey, can you go buy us some popcorn first?” Kyungsoo pulls out another bill from his wallet. “I’ll meet you by the doors in a sec.” he takes Chanyeol’s hand and presses the bill against his palms. Then he turns around and returns to whateverthefuck he and Jongin were talking about.

Okay, so he didn’t really get it, but at least he got the gist of it.

“I’ll see you, then.” Chanyeol says, although Kyungsoo’s not really listening. Pocketing the money into his jeans, Chanyeol turns around and exhales loudly through his nose before heading over to the snack bar.

Fisting the money between his palms, he turns around and exhales loudly through his nose before heading over to the snack bar. “Large popcorn, please.” He says to the attendant. It takes all of Chanyeol’s self-control to stop him from looking back and glaring at Kyungsoo.

“Will that be butter or cheese?” the attendant yawns, obviously bored with his life. He’s a tall boy, just a few inches short from Chanyeol’s height, and his dark hair is as dark as the dead look in his eyes.

“Butter, please.” Chanyeol says. (Kyungsoo hates it when the cheese gets stuck on his fingers.)

As the attendant moves to scoop up the popcorn, Chanyeol looks back at Kyungsoo and Jongin. They’re laughing, something Chanyeol’s been trying to make him do throughout the stressful week, but here they were. Kyungsoo’s heart-shaped lips tun up so easily at whatever Jongin said to him.

“Here you go, man.” The attendant hands over the bag of popcorn, and Chanyeol accepts it with a thanks. The then ponders over something for a few seconds, before turning back to the boy. “Oh, can you add a float to this?”

The boy stares back at him with dead eyes. “Sorry, the soft serve machine’s broken.”

Behind him, the soft serve ice cream machine continues humming a healthy, not-broken hum.

Chanyeol raises an eyebrow. “Please?”

The boy shakes his head. “No can do, man. Really sorry—”

“Chanyeol, did you get the popcorn?”

Chanyeol’s body relaxes when he feels Kyungsoo’s small body press against his, just beside him. He smiles as he hands over the bag to Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo’s already got his eyes locked with the attendant. “Oh, Sehun.”

“Do, Kyungsoo.”

“…Sorry, what? I don’t—”

The dead-eyed attendant (not anymore, with Kyungsoo here) laughs. “I’m just kidding you. Hey, do you want a float with that popcorn?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “Hey, I thought—”

“Sure, why not?”

Chanyeol watches in disbelief as the boy—Sehun—saunters over to the soft serve machine with a cup of soda in his hands, and easily tops it with a swirl of vanilla ice cream. He hands the drink to Kyungsoo, accepts his payment, and returns his gaze to Chanyeol.

“Oh, look at that.” Sehun deadpans. “The machine wasn’t broken after all.”

 

…..

 

“So, you’ve made new friends.”

Several people around them shush Chanyeol. Embarrassed, he sinks deeper into his seat, and buries his head in Kyungsoo’s shoulder, repeating his question in a much softer whisper.

“They’re in my non-fic class,” Kyungsoo says, sipping on his float. His eyes are trained on the large, projected movie screen. “Jongin and Sehun. We have this project coming up, and aside from that I’m helping them know their way around campus.”

“They’re both freshmen?”

“Yep. And helpless ones, really. Both awkward as heck—they wouldn’t really talk to me at first, but now they’re really comfortable with me.”

Chanyeol thinks back to Jongin openly flirting with Kyungsoo, and Sehun messing with him with a sense of familiarity.

“Yeah,” he tries not to grumble. “I noticed.”

His ear is whooped with a slap, and Chanyeol let out a loud _ah!,_ causing people’s heads to whip around and shush him again.

“What was that for?!” Chanyeol whisper-shouts.

“You were being such an ass earlier,” Kyungsoo says. Through the flashing lights of the movie up ahead, Chanyeol can see that Kyungsoo’s face is devoid of any humor as he stares back at him. “They’re good kids, once you get to know them.”

Chanyeol scoffed. “Yeah. I bet they’re _really good boys_ to you, Soo.”

Kyungsoo turns to him sharply with a grimace. “Yah. Don’t group me with someone as disgusting as you.”

Chlanyeol laughs at the way Kyungsoo’s eyebrows bunch together when he frowns. “Or, maybe _you’re_ their good boy? Is that how your dynamics work?”

Kyungsoo clambers to get ahold of Chanyeol’s neck. “I _swear_ to _god—”_

They’re shushed again by almost everybody around them. Kyungsoo settles with a pinch on the inside of Chanyeol’s thigh, earning him a yelp.

“Unlike _you,_ I don’t always try to get into people’s pants.” Kyungsoo whispers angrily. “ _And,_ I don’t have sex on my roommate’s bed.”

Chanyeol frowns. “Yah, are you _still_ not over that? It’s been two months—”

“The stains on my favorite sheets are still there, Chanyeol. I’ll remain angry as long as I can still see them.”

“I’m _sorry,_ okay? We didn’t notice that it was _your_ bed…”

“…”

Chanyeol sighs. “Fine, I’ll wash it in the morning.”

Kyungsoo is silent for another few moments. Chanyeol holds his breath, up until he hears Kyungsoo chuckling deeply. He slaps his best friend’s arm and whines something about being taken advantaged of and slavery. Then they fall into a comfortable silence.

Up front, the movie is slow and tedious. People died, crimes were made, cars were crashed—but Chanyeol couldn’t keep his focus. His mind keeps wandering back to Kyungsoo, right beside him. Kyungsoo, laughing and smiling with Jongin. Kyungsoo, frowning endearingly in confusion at Sehun’s weird humor. Kyungsoo, blatantly ignoring him as he obliviously charmed the two freshmen.

He doesn’t like what had been happening earlier outside—not one bit—but his mind, ever the optimist, leads him to think about the better things.

Like, the feel of Kyungsoo’s shoulder muscles whenever Chanyeol would lean his head against his shoulder, or the feel of Kyungsoo’s short cropped hair against Chanyeol’s neck when it would be vice versa.

The way the two of them would whisper snide comments about the cheap special effects, and the way Kyungsoo isn’t afraid to gush about the actors’ amazing acting or anything else he loves about the movie, being the movie geek he is. The way they silently fight over the armrest in between them, Kyungsoo shoving away Chanyeol’s left arm with his right elbow, and Chanyeol letting Kyungsoo have it anyway, because he doesn’t really mind giving anything to Do Kyungsoo.

The mere fact that he has all of this to himself makes him feel a bit better.

Chanyeol hates thinking that he’s actually taking advantage of Kyungsoo like this, hovering and touching with much more meaning that he lets on, so he simply just chalks it up to…grabbing a rare opportunity.

Kyungsoo hates public affection in any form, but Chanyeol’s learned a long time ago that Kyungsoo’s like a tiger, at most—distract him with some Brahms, and he’ll let you pet him as long as it takes. In their case, though, the Brahms are movies and petting is instead replaced by simple, close proximity.

Although there were technically fifty other people in the cinema with them, Chanyeol likes that it’s dark enough that it feels like it’s only the two of them there. It’s just Kyungsoo and him and the movie, at least up until the lights turn back on and they’re stepping back out into the humid summer night heat.

“Hi, hyung!” Jongin greets as they step out along with the rest of the crowd. There’s already a line for tickets for the last showing, so Kyungsoo simply returns Jongin’s greeting with a small smile.

Same goes for Sehun, who’s swamped with people ordering popcorn and candy bars and other snacks for the movie.

Strangely enough, Chanyeol doesn’t see him doing orders for floats.

Seeing the two banes of their night distracted, Chanyeol quickly grabs Kyungsoo by the shoulders and guides through the lobby and out of the parking lot.

“So, what did you think of the movie?” It’s a shitty, first date question, but to the two of them who’ve been seeing movies together since high school, it feels like a mandatory occurrence, if not a natural one.

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder. No Jongin or Sehun following them. Great. 

Kyungsoo ponders over his own thoughts for a moment. “It was shitty.” He concluded. “The plot was cool, but they could’ve done better. The setting was too small. The dialogue was awkward. And the ending? Pshhh. That was half-assed.”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol hums in agreement. Okay, he’ll pretend he didn’t see Kyungsoo wipe a tear away when the hero’s mother died in his arms. He’ll save the teasing for another day.

“Why did they cast Justine Timberlake, of all people?” Kyungsoo continues, apparently not done yet, as they walked up to the car. “Oh, but Amanda Segfried was really pretty in this one. I like her. Didn’t like her portrayal, though.” He turns to him. “How ‘bout you? What did you think of it?”

_I actually remember dirt-shit about the movie, but I really liked being able to put my head on your shoulder. My neck hurts like hell, but I haven’t seen you in a week and it just feels really, really nice to be able to have you alone with me for an hour or so._

 “It was pretty cool. I liked…the explosions.”

Chanyeol watched with an amused expression on his face as Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “God, I don’t even know why I bother asking you sometimes.”

“You love me.” Chanyeol teases, half-hoping it’s true.

“Ugh. No.”

Shit. Abort mission. Backtrack, backtrack.

“And because Baekhyun would talk your ear off if he was the one accompanying you out on nights like this.” Chanyeol gives himself a pat on the back for recovering smoothly.

They arrive at the car, and Kyungsoo sighs as he opens the door to the driver’s seat. Chanyeol slides into the passenger seat beside him.

“Don’t underestimate yourself,” Kyungsoo says as he starts the engine. “You annoy me just as much as Baekhyun does.”

 

…..

 

“YAH! What took you so long?” Baekhyun greets them as they cross the threshold of their shared suite. He’s sprawled out on the couch, watching whatever midnight drama was on, and Jongdae is sitting on the floor right next to him eating a big bowl of _bibimbap._ Both of them are still in their waiter uniforms, Chanyeol notes.

“You know how Kyungsoo drives,” Chanyeol calls out as he puts his shoes to the side. Kyungsoo jabs his chest as he does the same. “I drive _carefully.”_ He retorts.

“Is my car okay?” Baekhyun peeks out the window.

“Yah! It’s our car, too!” Jongdae throws his spoon at him. It hits the back of Baekhyun’s head and falls to the ground, where Kyungsoo is quick to pick it up. He smacks Baekhyun’s head (again), and smacks Jongdae’s, too , and threatens to smack Chanyeol when he laughs and quickly ducks into the kitchen to grab a quick bite.

 “Holy shit, Jongdae. Is that my portion of the _bibimbap_ you’re eating?” Chanyeol asks, peering into the fridge.

Jongdae pauses mid-bite. “Um, no?”

“Dumbass, he’s literally got his name scrawled on it.” Baekhyun laughs. He points at the bowl with his toes, and lo and behold, is a sticky note with the name _Chanyeol_ written on it.

“Baekhyun, it’s late, turn the TV off.” Kyungsoo sighs tiredly as he settles on the couch opposite from Baekhyun and Jongdae, and kicks his sneakers off to palm his toes through his black socks. 

“But _Choi Siwon!_ ” Baekhyun gestures wildly to the screen. “All in his second-lead glory!”

“You’ve eaten, like, _a third_ of what Kyungsoo cooked this morning.” Chanyeol says, stalking towards Jongdae. When he makes a grab for the bowl, Jongdae flies off the couch. “YAH! Your fault for not eating your portion this morning!”

“I mean, why does Hyejin keep choosing that bossy editor-in-chief over him?” Baekhyun cries to no one, punching a pillow. “He’s been nothing but a pain in the ass, and Siwon’s character is _such_ a sweetheart.”

Chanyeol clambers over the couch to grab again at Jongdae. “ _Jongdae!”_

“Cut me some slack!” Even on the run, Jongdae shoves a spoonful of rice into his mouth. Specks of rice fall unto the floor. “I’ve been serving people fillet mignons all night, I’m _starving!”_

“Siwon, you precious man!” Baekhyun sobs. He throws his pillow across the room, and it hits the curtains, tearing it down. 

“Jongdae—”

The slam of a door echoes throughout the suite, and all three of them freeze. Kyungsoo is nowhere in sight, and the frame with the picture of him and Chanyeol hung on their room door swings slowly to and fro.

Baekhyun switches the TV off.

“Oops.”

 

…..

 

Later, when they sort out the mess they’ve made of the living room (and Chanyeol begrudgingly lets Jongdae finish the last of the _bibimbap_ ), the three of them knock on Kyungsoo’s door.

When he doesn’t answer, they invite themselves in and throw themselves on Kyungsoo’s bed, crowding around the small boy trying to read in peace.

He’s mad, of course, and the force he puts into slapping each of their heads as they hover leaves a twinge of pain on Chanyeol’s head, but he relents while pushing Jongdae and Baekhyun away, and he accidentally topples over and elbows Kyungsoo in the ribs.

Kyungsoo screams. Baekhyun starts poking his sides, and soon Mad Soo is replaced by Pissed But Extremely Ticklish So He’s Laughing Now Soo.

He kicks them out of the room (including Chanyeol, even though the room was technically _his_ too) and shouts about refusing to make breakfast the next morning. Baekhyun and Jongdae, satisfied with the turn of events, turn in for the night, bickering on who should make breakfast as they close the door behind them.

Chanyeol is left in the living room alone, a sad bowl of cereal in his lap, watching TV with the volume muted. Too caught up with reading the subtitles, he almost doesn’t hear the _click_ of their room unlocking. He waits a few heartbeats, before he switches the TV off and clambers off the couch.

“What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?” Chanyeol asks into the darkness minutes later, once he’s settled into his comforter.

He’s no Kyungsoo, but years of watching him cook during the mornings has given Chanyeol ample knowledge to pick up the slack whenever Kyungsoo falters with breakfast.

An arm’s length away from Kyungsoo’s bed to his left, Chanyeol can see the smaller boy’s eyes pry open.

“Go wash my sheets first, you asshole.”

Chanyeol bursts into a laugh, and he has to tone it down a bit, if only for consideration for his two friends next door. The laugh lingers in Chanyeol’s chest, and it chases away all traces of sleep.

Kyungsoo chuckles softly, and turns to lie on his side, facing Chanyeol. Chanyeol mirrors the action, and now, if he reaches out, he’d be able to touch Kyungsoo on the shoulder. He wants to, so badly.

“Just kidding. I want pancakes.”

Chanyeol smiles. “I’ll try my best.”

There’s silence for a few moments, Chanyeol making out the shapes of their room in the darkness: the steady spin of the ceiling fan; the door to the closet. Kyungsoo’s sneakers and flip-flops crammed in a shoe rack because he couldn’t trust it outside along with everybody else’s with Baekhyun walking around with the same shoes size as him; Chanyeol’s guitar, standing proudly at one corner. Kyungsoo’s lava lamp, casting a weak purple light across the room; their shared desk, stacked with books from both of them, and someone’s charger tangled with dozens of other chords and a pair of earphones.

“Today was fun.” Kyungsoo says out of the blue. Chanyeol thought he fell asleep. “Even if you tried to shove the global warming stick up my ass.” And he falls asleep, just like that, facing Chanyeol.

Chanyeol has to _physically_ pull himself away, turning his back to Kyungsoo. He wouldn’t want to have the other boy suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and see Chanyeol watching him sleep like a creep.

Sleep doesn’t come for him for a long time. Chanyeol wonders, ponders, mulls about the night. His chest feels full and heavy with an unexplainable fondness.

At one am, he does fall asleep, chest rising and falling in tandem to Kyungsoo’s soft snores.

 

…..

 

The next morning, Chanyeol wakes up early. He always does, actually, but today he rises earlier than Baekhyun, who always makes it a point to wake up before anyone else to hog the bathroom with whatever morning routine he has, and use up most of the hot water they have.

“Wow, good morning.” Baekhyun actually gasps when he finds Chanyeol in the kitchen, beating eggs. “Something up today?”

“Kyungsoo wants pancakes,” Chanyeol replies, moving to get the flour from the overhead cupboard.

Baekhyun snorts. “Right, _Kyungsoo wants pancakes._ Of course.”  He ducks into the bathroom before Chanyeol could turn around and chuck an egg at him.

“I want bacon for breakfast,” Jongdae follows, coming out of the room with the comforter wrapped around his shoulders. He plops unto the couch, like he does every morning when he waits for his turn to shower.

“Kyungsoo wants pancakes,” Chanyeol repeats.

“ _Aigoo_. Of course.”  Jongdae coos. Chuckling, he turns on the TV to the morning news, volume at low in consideration for Kyungsoo.

Half an hour later, Baekhyun finally emerges from the shower butt-naked, Jongdae whines about how long it took him (just like he does every morning), and Chanyeol starts letting the coffee drip and fires up the stove.

More minutes later, when he can hear Jongdae start his morning vocal exercises, and Baekhyun’s blow dryer from their room, Chanyeol wonders if Kyungsoo’s getting up anytime sooner.

And even later, “SHIT!” a scream comes from Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s room.

When Kyungsoo hastily steps out of the room, he’s greeted by the sight of Jongdae and Baekhyun fighting over breakfast around the table, and Chanyeol flipping pancakes over at the stove.

“Morning, Soo!” Baekhyun says over a mouthful of pancakes.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s the rush?” Jongdae asks as he watches Kyungsoo rapidly grab stuff around the room.

“I was supposed to meet Jongin and Sehun—shit.” he checks his watch. “Half an hour ago. Where’s my phone?”

As Jongdae dials Kyungsoo’s number to find the whereabouts of his phone, Chanyeol quickly takes two pancakes off the stack and smothers it with as much butter and maple syrup as he can. Just as Kyungsoo’s about to step out of the door, Chanyeol shouts, “Wait!”

Kyungsoo hangs back long enough for Chanyeol to catch up to him. “Here.” He says, handing over a paper bag.

Kyungsoo looks at it curiously, but takes it anyway. “What’s this?” he asks, looking into a bag.

“A pancake sandwhich, since you’re on the go.”

The smile Kyungsoo flashes him is enough to last him through a thousand-mile desert. “Thanks, dork.” Kyungsoo jokes, but his eye betray a sincerity Chanyeol is happy to see.

For a long moment, they’re just standing there, smiling at each other. And it’s awkward, but honestly really wonderful, up until Baekhyun attacks Kyungsoo with kisses on the cheek and Jongdae screams about the pancakes burning.

“I’m taking the car today!” Kyungsoo shouts as he snatches the keys out of the fish bowl they keep near the door. Baekhyun shouts, “BUT I HAVE A DATE WITH TAEYON TONIGHT!” and runs after him.

 _“A pancake sandwich, since you’re on the go,”_ Jongdae says to his own pancake, taking one last bite before standing up to get ready for the day.

Chanyeol walks over to the dining room and smacks Jongdae’s ass with the spatula, causing the shorter boy to shriek.

“YOU GOT BUTTER ALL OVER MY PANTS!” he screamed indignantly.

 

…..

 

**baekhoney**

honey when are /you/ going to make me pancakes

 

**jongdaeddy**

when i learn how to cook sweetheart lololol

 

**baekhoney**

you’re useless

I want me a chanyeol who’ll cook me pancakes :((((((

 

**jongdaeddy**

I’m going to ask yixing

if he can make me a pancake sandwich the next time we talk

 

**baekhoney**

:(((((

I want a cute boyfriend

or girlfriend

doesn’t matter

somebody cook for me pls

 

**jongdaeddy**

baek you’ll have to

like

learn this thing first

 it’s called commitment

 

**baekhoney**

I KNOW HOW TO COMMIT

I just don’t want to lol

too much of a hassle for pancakes

**jongdaeddy**

jfc just have chanyeol make some for you then

you commitment-phobe

 

**baekhoney**

lol

I’m not kyungsoo tho

you know he’ll only wake up at the asscrack of dawn

if it’s for kyungsoo

 

**jongdaeddy**

omg

u know for once

u have A Point


	2. Chapter 2

Technically, the suite they all live in belongs to Jongdae, the complex they live in one of the properties from the long list of properties named under him by his parents, but after freshman year with the horrible roommates and shitty bathroom conditions, the four highschool best friends decided that if they were going to at least tolerate living with other people, they were going to tolerate living with each other.

Life had really been good— _too good_ —back then, because Jongdae was loaded with monthly allowance he was more than willing to spend on all of them like a mother hen, and Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo never had to worry about rent or groceries.

But then Jongdae’s parents dropped by for an unannounced visit, surprised by four rowdy boys living underneath a messy apartment, three of them mooching off the money they send their son every month.

So, after a lot of shouting, endless begging, and a minor meltdown on Jongdae’s part, an agreement was settled: Jongdae’s parents would let them all live in the suite, but the monthly allowance would stop, and the boys would have to deal with expenses on their own, Jongdae included. The rent,  groceries, electricity, water…they had to figure how to deal with all of those.

It was rough at first, since they were all broke and couldn’t even commute to school, and there were a lot of fights. Too many fights. Some about the small things, like a faucet left running, or a phone left to charge unattended. Small things they had to stress over every day, because overlooking them would mean trouble once the bills would start arriving.

Then it became apparent that just because they were all friends for a long time didn’t mean that living together would be easier.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were the irresponsible ones, always making a mess and slacking off on their household duties, and Jongdae and Kyungsoo—despite being both born into quite well-off families—were the proper ones who really just _nagged_ too much.

They caused so much trouble for each another that Chanyeol was sure that if it weren’t for Yixing—Jongdae’s boyfriend—the four of them would’ve fallen out of friendship by now.

Chanyeol will forever thank their hyung for walking into their apartment at the peak of The Fight (where Jongdae had wrestled Baekhyun to the floor and Kyungsoo had threatened to pour a glass of water over Chanyeol’s  music equipment) and broke them up.

Chanyeol had never considered Yixing as an intimidating person, but the way he had marched into the room and lifted each of the smaller boys up and unto the couch was honestly one of the best and—at the same time—scariest things Chanyeol’s seen in his life that he could actually still remember scrambling towards the couch by himself before he could find out if Yixing could lift all six feet of his skinny limbs.

There was still a lot of fighting on the couch after that, even with Yixing to mediate between the four of them, and honestly the chances of them making up had been so bleak that even Chanyeol was losing hope. Up until Kyungsoo had bolted up and shouted, “That’s it, I’m moving out.”

The realization that they were going to lose the friend that they’ve babied for more than five years cleared everybody’s minds, and there was a lot of crying and cheek-kissing and hugging Kyungsoo after that. The Fight had officially been declared over when Yixing joined in on the group hug and promised to help them sort everything out.

(Everybody had ignored Kyungsoo’s complaints on there being _too much hugging.)_

Yixing—having lived by himself since his freshman year—taught them the ins and outs of bills payment, budgeting, and even went as far as assisting them to find jobs. Baekhyun and Jongdae landed night shifts at the fancy Italian restaurant across the street, the manager charmed by Baekhyun’s charisma and Jongdae’s ability to speak a little Italian. Chanyeol jumps from bar to bar for music gigs, and Kyungsoo’s the TA of the university’s acting teacher, Professor Jo Insung, and his secretary outside of school.

Between the four jobs, they sort out their expenses easily, with Kyungsoo handling the money and bills. (Initially, they were supposed to take turns every month after Yixing’s lessons, but the other three kept messing up the calculations, and ultimately left Kyungsoo to shoulder it.)

It took a while for them to get to the system they had going on now, with the four of them unused to independence.  But months later, they fall into the routine, and there’s a constant flow of cash.

Their _sunbae_ and the TA in Chanyeol’s business classes, Junmyeon, upon hearing about their commuting woes, pawns off his old vehicle to them for an insanely low price, and now the four of them were the most comfortable that they’ve ever lived.

“So, like, who’re Jongin and Sehun?” Baekhyun asks in the afternoon, during the only free hour they have everyday before Kyungsoo’s TA duties and Jongdae and Baekhyun’s shifts and Chanyeol’s—well, whatever was in store for Chanyeol in the afternoons, since his gigs weren’t as constant as the other three’s jobs.

Kyungsoo’s not there with them, only was for a minute when he dropped by to mention to them that he’d be busy working on their creative non-fic project with Jongin and Sehun.

Chanyeol tries not to glower at the back of Kyungsoo’s head in front of Jongdae and Baekhyun, and was even the loudest to say goodbye when Kyungsoo left.

Jongdae freezes. “Aren’t they the freshmen everyone’s been drooling over since September?”

Upon hearing this, Chanyeol frowns. “They’re just Soo’s new friends. No big deal.”

“ _Hot_ new friends,” Jongdae countered. “And no big deal? He literally just ditched us to meet with them.”

“They can’t be _that_ hot,” Baekhyun mused. “Not as hot as us, I mean.”

Sighing, Jongdae dejectedly pulls out his phone. Chanyeol can see him scrolling through Instagram for a few moments, before giving his phone a few more taps and facing it to Baekhyun.

“OHMYGOD,” Baekhyun chokes, grabbing Jongdae’s phone and zooming in on the shirtless bodies of Jongin and Sehun. “Do Kyungsoo, _you lucky bastard!”_

“They’re just his friends!” Chanyeol argues weakly. Both Jongdae and Baekhyun give him strange looks.

“Yeol-ah, we kinda get how years of being Kyungsoo-whipped can mess with your mind, but seriously?” Baekhyun shoves two pairs of six-packs into Chanyeol’s face and manages to zoom even further in. “ _One_ is not simply _just friends_ with _that,”_

Chanyeol squawks indignantly, shoving the phone out of his face. Jongdae laughs. Chanyeol doesn’t notice how he failed to deny the _Kyungsoo-whipped_ part of Baekhyun’s argument, but thankfully, neither do Baekhyun and Jongdae, the former asking for more shirtless pictures.

Chanyeol’s mind wanders to the night before, when both Jongin and Sehun had been comfortable with Kyungsoo. Who never really lets anyone who isn’t Jongdae or Baekhyun or Chanyeol get that close, not even in the bigger circle of friends they’ve made out of the mutual people they all know.

It bothers Chanyeol—he _knows_ so himself, can physically _feel_ the uncomfortable nag in his stomach—but he makes nothing of it. They’ve known each other since diapers, and they’re both free to make friends, right? See Baekhyun and Jongdae—they slipped into both their lives without ruining their friendship.

They’re Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, after all.

No matter how many years have passed and how many people they’ve met, they still stayed as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s status as The Best Friend will never be replaced, and he finds a comfort in that.

“Damn, I wonder how it feels being dicked by these two,” Baekhyun mutters under his breath, but Chanyeol is close enough to hear it.

He smacks Baekhyun on the shoulder as Jongdae clears the plates. “Yah, _nobody’s_ getting _dicked.”_

“Yeah, yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night, Yoda.” Baekhyun takes a swig of his milk as if it were alcohol and sighs. “Better ask Kyungsoo the next time I see him.”

 

…..

 

Together, Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun are a force of nature.

Apparently having known each other since highschool (much like the four of them, Chanyeol muses) has given them an unexplainable synchronization.

On stage, they dance like two sides of a coin spinning into one image. And off stage, they’re like a tornado. Drawing towards Kyungsoo and using their combined charms to whisk him away to god knows where.

Chanyeol can’t really do anything about it. He’s tried, several times before, but time and time again, he proves to be a worthless anchor, helpless as he watches Kyungsoo leave with the two freshmen each time.

Whether it be in the hallyways or outside of the university, whenever Jongin and Sehun catch sight of Kyungsoo, the two of them would always run over, announcing their arrival with a repeated storm of _hyung, hyung, hyung, hyung!!_

Regardless of his company, Kyungsoo would always ditch to go with Sehun and Jongin. Chanyeol’s pretty sure that most of the time, they don’t even come together just for the project anymore. They’re just simply hanging out. ( _Because they’re Kyungsoo’s friends and that’s alright,_ Chanyeol thinks to himself.)

Still, he’s has taken to hiding Kyungsoo whenever he catches sight of the pair. Either physically covering Kyungsoo with his body, or steering Kyungsoo to the opposite direction—the measures Chanyeol takes to keep Kyungsoo by his side are insane, and always leaves him with a few bruises.

They’re at the library, looking through the liberated arts sections in hopes of getting material for an essay in Philosophy class that’s due the next day. (Jongdae and Baekhyun were already holed up in their own room rushing it through.)

Mostly, it’s Kyungsoo skimming the titles, and Chanyeol’s just there to carry their book basket and reach for any book beyond the fifth shelf.

While Kyungsoo’s busy with pondering whether he should go for a Macchiaveli or Marx point of view for his essay, flipping over copies of each respective Philosopher’s books, Chanyeol catches sight of two familiar figures making their way through the tunnels of shelves.

“Oh! How about that one?” Chanyeol says with fake enthusiasm, surging forward to cage Kyungsoo against the shelves, his right hand pressing him against the books while his left reaches up as he pretends to reach for a book.

Kyungsoo, in surprise, has his eyes widening into saucers as he tries to avoid being smushed by Chanyeol’s face. “Wh—Cha…Chanyeol! What the hell?!”

“Shh! Keep quiet, I can’t concentrate on reaching it…” But really, his eyes are trained on Jongin and Sehun, waiting for them to move past their section. He doesn’t notice how flush his body is against Kyungsoo’s.

Anyone who’d see them in such a position would surely think of other things. But Chanyeol, being _so_ concentrated on hiding Kyungsoo’s prescience from the two freshmen, doesn’t notice it, or the blush creeping across Kyungsoo’s face as _he_ does.

Kyungsoo slaps Chanyeol’s arm with one of the books. It stings a little, but Kyungsoo must be holding back, because it lacks the usual malicious pain Kyungsoo’s slaps usually have. “Get off me, you fucking _beast!_ Stop using me like a ladder, you’re tall enough!”

Chanyeol looks down at him with what must’ve been exasperation on his face. “You know, for someone who respects the library so much, you sure are a noisy one, Soo.”

Kyungsoo downright _glares_ at him.

When the sounds of Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin start to sound farther away, Chanyeol finally steps back. He cranes his neck, trying to see if the two boys are a safe distance away…

_WHACK!_

…and simply doubles over when Kyungsoos shoves the two books into his arms, the sharp edges stabbing him right in the abs.

“Stop acting like a mother hen,” Baekhyun says another day as Chanyeol’s face falls when Kyungsoo pulls away from their small group to join Sehun and Jongin on the way to class.

“Mother hen?” Chanyeol turns to him and Jongdae, looking incredulous.

“Yeah. Mother hen. I wouldn’t be surprised if you started flapping your wings and pecking at the poor boys everytime they came at Soo.”

Jongdae howls with laughter at that. He and Baekhyun share a high-five, and all the way to class, they strut behind Chanyeol, folding their arms into wings and clucking like chickens. Chanyeol wants to crawl into a hole and die.

Thankfully, though, there are places and times where Chanyeol’s can breathe easy, because all this Kyungsoo-protecting seriously drains the energy from him.

“How about this?” Chanyeol asks, showing a glossy sticker to Kyungsoo. It’s design was of a wilted rose, thorns dripping with what he assumed was blood. Kyungsoo took only one look at it before grimacing. “Ugh. You sure about that? It doesn’t really seem to fit the occasion.”

Since getting his guitar since middle school, Chanyeol’s been slapping stickers all over it as a reminder of his milestones. A zebra head for the day he received the guitar, to match the black and white color scheme;  a pair of lips with a pair of lips with its tongue out obscenely for the first time he performed in a crowd; two crossed swords, for the time their highschool band won Battle of the Bands; and a whale and astronaut floating in space, to symbolize the start of his university life.

(Alternatively, it also symbolized the time he and Kyungsoo first collaborated during senior year, but he’d rather keep that to himself. A secret only he knew.)

Now they’re at the music store they occasionally frequent in, looking for a new sticker for a new milestone. The day before, Kyungsoo had called Chanyeol and practically shouted at him to open the radio and listen in to their favorite channel. The indie segment had been on, and Chanyeol recognized the blending of his voice with Kyungsoo’s. At that moment, his heart had stopped.

“It’s your song!” Kyungsoo shouted happily.

 _Our song,_ Chanyeol reminds himself now, watching Kyungsoo inspect the stickers carefully.

“I can’t believe it took them a year to play it.” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath.

“Sorry, what?”

Kyungsoo looks up at him. “I said, I can’t believe it took them a year to play it. People from school have been sending it in non-stop, and your music’s improved so much in a year, so it’s strange to only hear it on the radio now.”

It had been nostalgic. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were both fresh highschool graduates when they first collaborated on that song, so their voices and techniques were still a little wobbly (Chanyeol actually _cooed_ at how young Kyungsoo had sounded in the song).

Still, it was nice hearing it again. Quite a trip down memory lane.

“I guess I didn’t really notice. A lot’s happened over a year,” Chanyeol jokes, unconsciously implying something else, and mentally slapping himself when he realizes this. When he sees Kyungsoo catching on, he picks the nearest sticker up. “How about this?” he held a sticker of a red hot two-piece up and wiggled his eyebrows at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, but fought back a smile. “God, you’re disgusting. Such a huge pervert.”

After bickering over the shop’s collection of stickers, both of them settled on a sticker of a bottle of suju and a shot glass. “I’m the bottle, and the tiny shot glass is you,” Chanyeol pointed happily as they exited the shop.

“I was actually hoping you’d be hinting a drink to celebrate, but okay.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah, right! That’s a great idea! Baek and Dae are closing early today. We can buy drinks and head back to the apartment—”

“How about we head over to the old ahjussi’s place instead?” Kyungsoo cuts him off. “Just the two of us. Since—well, no offense, but I don’t hear Baek and Dae’s voices in the track.”

There’s a beat of silence after, Chanyeol having to process everything he just said.

It goes without saying that they go out— _hang out, hang out, it’s just hanging out, Chanyeol, not going out—_ with just each other a lot. But it’s usually Chanyeol who initiates these activities—movie dates and studying and impulsive trips to the store—and the most Kyungsoo’s invited him out over the years were the times when he’d invite Chanyeol over to try his mother’s cooking (middle school), times when he’d invite Chanyeol over to try his _own_ cooking (high school), and times when he’d coax Chanyeol out of their room to try the store-bought chicken he got on the way home (college).

Drinking is a group activity for them—that goes without saying. Between Baekhyun being a clingy drunk and Kyungsoo being an angry one, they were too much to handle and always needed both Jongdae and Chanyeol to placate them.

The last time Jongdae went out to drink with only Baekhyun, he ended up with unwanted hickeys across his neck and a sleepy Yixing awoken to carry Baekhyun back to the suite, and the last time Chanyeol got drunk alone with Kyungsoo—well, that didn’t end very well, either.

So, it’s quite a surprise that Kyungsoo’s suggesting all of these things. Kyungsoo must’ve realized this, too, because his eyes widen a bit and he immediately backpedals, “I mean, if you want to celebrate with Baek and Dae, that’s fine too and—”

“Nonononono,” Chanyeol blurts out a little too suddenly. “If you want it to just be the two of us, that’s cool, no need for Baek and Dae and, um—do you have enough money with you?”

“Insung-hyung just paid me today,” Kyungsoo says.

“Great!” _Oh god, his voice is too loud, he’s looking forward to this too much._ “Off to ahjussi’s place it is, then!”

They set off to the hole-in-the-wall restaurant they often frequented in. Neither Chanyeol nor Kyungsoo liked bars, anyway—Chanyeol because Kyungsoo can’t hear him speak, and Kyungsoo because he can’t hear himself think.

They all usually drank in karaoke places and restaurants that warranted enough privacy, and the small shop they were heading to was unassuming enough not to be stormed by college students on a daily basis.

Before they enter the shop, Chanyeol takes a moment to hesitate. At this, Kyungsoo looks back at him. He must’ve seen the look of restlessness on Chanyeol’s face, because he looks away, clicks his tongue, and says, “Don’t worry, we won’t get ourselves drunk.”

Right. As if they’ve only messed around when they were _drunk._

The ahjussi greets them cheerfully as they cross the door and the bell rings above them. They each order a bottle of soju and a big bowl of bibimbap to share between them. Chanyeol expects it to be awkward, because of _reasons,_ but surprisingly, everything is as natural as things should be. The sit side-by-side in the booth, watching one of Professor Insung’s old dramas and sharing Kyungsoo’s earphones.

“Are you sure you’re over your crush on him?” Chanyeol grumbles after Kyungsoo gushes about his employer.

“I _admire_ him, Chanyeol. I admire him as an actor, and am flattered and so very lucky to be able to work with him. I admire him as a mentor, and he teaches me a lot about the acting industry. We’re both very professional.”

“You make sure his spam folder doesn’t fill up with fan letters.”

“That, too, but I usually just keep him company while he grades papers.”

Their bibimbap arrives along with the soju, and when Chanyeol cheers “To us!” the same time Kyungsoo raises a “To Park Chanyeol!”, Chanyeol thinks that his heart might burst. Never mind the hot trail the soju leaves along his throat when he takes a swig, Kyungsoo beaming at him, Kyungsoo right beside him is all it takes to make him happy.

 

…..

 

The first boy Chanyeol ever dated was a boy by the name Kim Minseok.

Minseok was a friend of Jongdae and Baekhyun. Before Chanyeol and Kyungsoo came along, the three were a tight group, their prescience always vibrant and in-your-face, whenever one was in the same room with them.

When Chanyeol finally found himself talking and hanging out with Baekhyun and Jongdae more (the three of them being classmates and sticking together out of mutual interests in mischief), Chanyeol introduced his one and only best friend, Kyungsoo, and the other two introduced Minseok in return.

At that point, Chanyeol didn’t even _think_ he liked boys. He was just simply drawn to the other boy because of the fact that Minseok was small, like Kyungsoo; was quiet, like Kyungsoo; and laughed at his jokes, like Kyungsoo. Very unlike the two other boys, who were loud and obnoxious like Chanyeol was himself.

So, when Kim Minseok went and asked Chanyeol out on a date, he thought, _why not? It’s basically just dating another Kyungsoo. No biggie._

Dating Minseok was fun. Chanyeol was happy. Everything was pretty much the same, them hanging out with Baekhyun and Jongdae and Kyungsoo during and after school, but occasionally they did go out alone and sucked face in a dark theater somewhere in town. Chanyeol didn’t have to worry about being a bad boyfriend, because he was basically being himself, and Minseok liked him for it.

Everything was pretty great. Up until Minseok had to migrate to China at the start of their third year and dropped their relationship because neither of them could stand long-distance.

Maybe Chanyeol _had_ been a bad boyfriend—he felt no remorse whatsoever at Minseok’s departure. They simply broke up, agreed to keep texting each other, and slowly drifted away as time went by and Chanyeol found himself wandering back to Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and Baekhyun. Mostly Kyungsoo.

But it wasn’t like he’d left Kyungsoo’s side, anyway. He’d still been Kyungsoo’s best friend, even when he’d spent more time alone with Minseok. Even when he liked Minseok. Even when Kyungsoo started dating the senior Kim Woobin during their second year. Even when, on one too many occasions, he’d close his eyes and imagine Kyungsoo in Minseok’s place whenever they kissed.

Even when they’d fight. Even when Chanyeol would beg for forgiveness (it was his fault most of the time, anyway). Even when Jongdae and Baekhyun started teasing them. Even when he found himself unsatisfied with just resting his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder when the cinema lights went down. With just kicking each other’s feet underneath tables whenever they’d eat out.

Even when he’d start seeing other boys and girls in hopes of trying to relieve the frustration of always wanting to hold your best friend’s hand even though he’s dating someone else. Even when he’d start _fucking_ other boys and girls in hopes of ignoring the fact that whenever he closes his eyes and leans in for a kiss, it’s still Kyungsoo’s face he hopes to see when he opens them again.

Even when he’d start to feel a dangerous flame ignite in his gut whenever he saw Kyungsoo with someone else—Chanyeol stayed by his side, because he valued their being best friends above everything else.

Because it was Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo made him happy the most.

 

…..

 

**jongdaeddy**

DID U HEAR SOO AND YEOL’S SONG ON THE RADIO AGAIN TODAY

 

**baekhoney**

LOL YEA

KYUNGSOO

KYUNGSOO OHMYGOD

HIS VOICE IS SO PREPUBESCENT

HE SOUNDS LIKE A BABY DUCK

A BABY DUCK WHO’S REALLY GOOD AS SINGING

 

**jongdaeddy**

IM CRYING

BABY SOO HAS GROWN UP SO MUCH

 

**baekhoney**

nowadays he sounds like he can shove a fist up my ass

 

**jongdaeddy**

BAEK NO             

 

**baekhoney**

WHERE IS KYUNGSOO ANYWAY

 

 

**jongdaeddy**

out with chanyeol probably

 

 

….

 

 

The next day, there's a blank-faced boy sitting in Chanyeol's usual seat in econ class.

"What're _you_ doing here?" Okay, it's a greeting ruder than expected from him, but Chanyeol can't help it. There's something about Oh Sehun's face that makes him feel the need to lash out.

"I'm here for _class."_ Sehun deadpans, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Maybe it is. Chanyeol pauses, looks around to see if he's in the right room. There's Wu Yifan and Huang Zitao sitting in one corner--business majors he's been classmates with since first year.

"But you're a _dance_ major." Chanyeol points out, turning back to Sehun. The younger boy just blows a permed lock out of his eyes.

"I'm _double majoring,_ idiot." he replies, frowning. "Like you. Wait--we've been having this class for _months_ now, and you haven't noticed me at least once?"

Chanyeol can feel his ears turning pink. "Uh, no offense, but you don't really stand out to me."

"I take both _economics_ and _music theory_ with you _._ I'm one of the tallest in my batch. _How_ do I not stand out?"

Chanyeol shrugs, gives up and takes the seat beside Sehun instead of the one he usually takes. Sehun's lucky--he's sitting on Chanyeol's favorite spot in the classroom, right next to the window where he can look out and feel like an anime protagonist.

He could actually still do that right now, despite being a seat away, Their econ classroom overlooks the quad, and down below, he can see Kyungsoo walking with Professor Insung, laughing while carrying what was probably material for the professor's next class...

"Yah," Sehun  shoves Chanyeol's shoulder, strongly enough that he actually shifts on his seat. "I'm asking you, hyung.   _How_ do I not stand out?"

"Why are you being so familiar with me?" Chanyeol whines, looking over Sehun's shoulder to try and find Kyungsoo again in the midst of students on the quad. He doesn't. "We've only just met!"

"You're Kyungsoo-hyung's best friend," Sehun replies simply.  "Park Chanyeol. Double majoring in music and business. I know a lot about you."

"That's not nearly enough!"

"It's enough for now." Sehun tucks himself further into his seat.  "Yah, it's comfy here. I kinda get why you like parking your ass here every class."

Chanyeol snaps his head towards him. “Don’t get too comfy. That seat’s still _mine,_ ”

“Ha. Not if I get to it first every time.”

Thankfully, Oh Sehun doesn’t bother him for the rest of the class. The moment the professor and his TA step into the room, the younger immediately sits straight and ignores Chanyeol for the rest of the period, too busy pensively jotting down notes from the powerpoint up front. Chanyeol would’ve pegged him as a studious type, if only Sehun would stop yawning and stretching. (His limbs were as long as Chanyeol’s—Chanyeol himself had to dodge every time the boy loosened his arms.)

Midway through class, Sehun _tsk_ s and throws his ball pen out of the window. “Lemme borrow this,” he says, and grabs Chanyeol’s G-Tech right out of his hands. And, because he’s a kind and patient hyung, he (begrudgingly) lets him keep it.

After class, Oh Sehun comes up to him and shoves the ballpen back into his hands, saying, “You’re pretty cool, hyung.”

Chanyeol’s eyes narrow as he closes his hands around the pen. “Wha—stop messing with me, man. It’s not funny.”

“I’m not.” Sehun states, face devoid of any emotion. “I’ve heard your music from Kyungsoo-hyung before. It’s good. He’s always talking about you.”

Chanyeol blinks. “Really?”

“Yeah. And it’s funny, because it pisses Jongin off and he never notices.”

Chanyeol’s stomach flips once, twice, _thrice._ Never in his life did he ever think that pissing other people off like this would be so _satisfying._

Sehun brushes his bangs out of his eyes. “Of course, if the dumbass would just stop ridiculously _pining_ over hyung and actually _do_ something, maybe I wouldn’t have to watch the trainwreck of a rom-com the two of them are.”

Chanyeol’s stomach sinks mid-flip. Sehun, oblivious to the alarm in Chanyeol’s face, claps him on the back, stepping out of the room. “See you around, hyung.”

 

**_….._ **

 

“Whoa, so, like, are they dating now or something?” Jongdae says over lunch, after Chanyeol recounts his and Sehun’s latest encounter.

“I don’t know, but that Jongin kid’s definitely going for Soo.” Chanyeol says, oblivious to how he’s sulking.

“Wait, hold on—I thought _Oh Sehun_ was dating _Kim Jongin_.”

“You have a bad radar when it comes to who’s dating who.” Chanyeol shakes his head. “Nah. I think he just likes hanging out with the both of them at the same time.”

They fall into silence for a bit, Chanyeol trying to drown his thoughts with every sip of his flat soda. He knows Jongdae’s staring at him, can actually _feel_ the heat of his gaze at him. He squirms, trying to ignore Jongdae’s intensity, but after a few moments, he finally relents.

“Look, I don’t _care_ okay?” Chanyeol exclaims, finally looking up. Jongdae raises an eyebrow amusedly, popping a French fry into his mouth. “Oh, really now?”

“Yeah. Soo can date anyone he wants.”

“Mm.” Jongdae’s gaze shifts to his burger. “Of course he can. Besides, you’ve dated a fair amount of people, and he never said a thing.”

“Yeah! Well, maybe said a _few_ things, but you know Soo. Anyway, it’s not like those kids can compare to us, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Goddamnit. Chanyeol hates it when Jongdae starts sounding condescending. “And it’s not like he’s going to replace _you,_ right? After all, you’re his _best friend._ ”

 “Exactly!”

Jongdae shakes his head, staring at him knowingly.

“Damn, I can’t believe Soo’s getting more dick than me now.” He muses. “Our _baby.”_

“Nobody’s getting _dicked,_ Dae.”

“Hehe. Dick. Dae.”

Chanyeol throws a fry at him.

Normally, lunch would be more frenzied with the four of them sharing the same table, but today it’s just him and Jongdae. On rare occasions, Yixing would join them, but the dance troupe had a showcase coming up, and Yixing had been spending every second of his free time in the studio to practice.

“How’s Yixing-hyung’s routine going?” Chanyeol asks.

Jongdae shrugs. “Really great. As it always is. You know him.”

“Don’t you miss him?”

Jongdae gives a small smile. “Of course I do. My ass is getting numb from waiting for him every day.”

“Then why’re you just sitting here? Go see him!”

“Chanyeol.” Jongdae sighs.

“Don’t ‘Chanyeol’ me, man. I’m just saying.” Chanyeol shrugs. “If you miss him, go see him. It’s not like he’ll get mad, or feel bothered with you around. There’s a reason why the two of you are dating, right?”

Jongdae polishes off his food, silent for a few moments, and Chanyeol watches him carefully. “Look, Chanyeol…” Jongdae starts slowly. “Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean I’m always welcome in his life, okay?”

Chanyeol frowns in confusion. “What?”

“I mean…sure, it’s been a while since we’ve been together but…we’re still two different people, you know? We’I let him chase his dreams and support him, he lets me chase my dreams and supports it…but we don’t step in. Do you get me? It’s kinda hard to explain, but…just because we’re dating doesn’t mean we should be joined at the hip or something. And—oh, don’t give me that look, Yeol. We’re completely fine with it. We’ve still got boundaries, and we respect that. It’s all good.”

Chanyeol’s still frowning. “That’s sounds sad. Are you really happy with your relationship, Dae? You know you can be honest with me and the others, right?”

Jongdae laughs. “I’m fine with it. I swear. It…it makes me kinda like him more, actually. We want the same things, nobody’s clingy…it’s all I could ask for.”

“Okay, if that’s what you’re into, I’m not going to nag. But still, not sharing everything…it’s just really sad.”

“Not everyone’s like you, you know.” Jongdae says, rolling his eyes.

Chanyeol slams a fist unto the table. “That’s exactly what Kyungsoo said the other day!”

“Oh? Maybe we’re right, then.”

“What does that even _mean?!”_

“Not everybody wants to, like, date and date and date and date…”

Chanyeol turns to him sharply. “Hey, give me a break. I haven’t dated anyone for two months now.”

Jongdae gasps. “What? _Really?!_ Is the world ending? How did that happen?”

Chanyeol pauses. He puts down his burger. He doesn’t feel hungry now, all of a sudden.

Jongdae notices it, and squints at him. “Wait, does this have something to do with you washing Kyungsoo’s sheets the other day?”

“Yeah, well…remember how we fought before because I dated one of his co-actresses?”

“Sohyun? Yeah, I remember that. You slept on the couch for a month.”

Chanyeol looks at him flatly. “Really? That’s all you remember about it?”

“Hey, I wasn’t _that_ informed of what was happening. I assumed it was one of your usual fights. It was really funny, how Kyungsoo had you wrapped in his finger enough for you to beg for forgiveness every night.”

Chanyeol flinched. Yeah, well, fair enough. That pretty much sums up their entire fight.

“Yeah, well…Soo, he angry because, well…we had sex on his bed.”

Jongdae sputtered. “Wh—CHANYEOL! You…you _monster!_ Those were his favorite sheets!”

“Yeah, and that’s why I ended up washing them, okay?!” Goddamit, Jongdae’s so _loud._ Half of the cafeteria swiveled their heads at his outburst, and Chanyeol has half a mind to shove a handful of fries into Jongdae’s mouth just to shut him up. “Anyway, yeah, he mostly got angry because of the sheets but…it’s more complicated than that.”

Chanyeol hears Jongdae’s feet impatiently tapping underneath the table. “Oh, really? Please, do pray tell, while we’re young.”

Chanyeol sighs, but does end up telling Jongdae. About their tiny quarrel blown out of proportion. He tells Jongdae about him and Kyungsoo, sort of feeling a slight rift in their friendship because of all the time they spend away from each other.

Kyungsoo, busy with assisting Professor Insung with one of his plays last winter, and Chanyeol, busy with his nighttime gigs and…late-night escapades with strangers all over the city.

He leaves out the details that he’s still embarrassed about. Sleeping with a girl on Kyungsoo’s bed was just the tip of the iceberg. Jongdae and Baekhyun weren’t around when it happened, being busy with their own lives to notice the tense aura in the suite between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, but, to put it simply, Chanyeol had been an asshole to his bestfriend. Lots of forgotten plans and lies and excuses and fights, all Chanyeol’s fault, practically.

Their friendship wasn’t perfect. They’d always fight, even back in middle school. Thankfully, they always made up. This fight had been one of many, but it was fresh enough that Chanyeol felt uneasy talking about it. Like he was betraying Kyungsoo, somehow.

“So yeah. He said a lot of mean stuff, which kinda hurt my ego, but it was all true. It opened my eyes, actually. I almost flunked the second semester because of my habits. He made me realize that. In the end, he was the one who had to clean my shit up, because I was too ashamed to actually do anything.”

Chanyeol grimaces, remembering how Kyungsoo practically had to drag him to the auditorium to apologize to Sohyun for leaving her on Kyungsoo’s bed the morning after, and how Kyungsoo had to push Chanyeol to beg for make-up assignments from his professors to keep his grades up. “We’re okay now, but there’s still this slight strain, you know? We’ve been real assholes to each other.”

Miraculously, Jongdae had been quiet the entire time he was retelling the story. “Dude…how come you two never told me or Baekhyun about this?”

Chanyeol coughed awkwardly. “Yeah, well…I begged Kyungsoo not to. I didn’t want you guys to have an Intervention regarding my…ah, sex life.”

Jongdae looks thoughtful. “Fair enough. Hey, while you were talking, something occurred to me.” He scoots closer, as if to share a secret, and Chanyeol automatically does, too.

“Did you ever wonder…if Kyungsoo did all of that, because he was jealous?”

“What the hell?” Chanyeol immediately pulls aways. Jongdae shrugs. “Just a thought. I mean, we all know you’re a jealous prick, it’s obvious with how you always harass the guys Kyungsoo dates. But didn’t it ever occur to you that maybe Kyungsoo felt the same, seeing you with all those people?”

For some reason, Chanyeol feels his face growing hot. “I…yeah, maybe he did. But not… _that_ way, maybe? I mean, he was dating Kris then. He was just looking out for me the way I do with him.”

For a moment, Jongdae just stares at him blankly. “W-What?” Chanyeol fidgets, not used to the intensity of Jongdae’s cat-like gaze.

Jongdae finally pulls away. “Just looking out for each other…right.” He sighs, and start polishing off the rest of his meal. “Okay. Anyway, you haven’t been dating for two months because…you feel like you owe Kyungsoo? Is that it?”

In all honesty, he hadn’t been dating for the past few months because he didn’t _need_ to. Kyungsoo had been his almost _all the time._ “Sort of? I dunno, I just wanted to make it up to him.”

Jongdae laughs. “Wow. You either love him very much, or you’re a fucking saint, Park Chanyeol.”

Without missing a beat, Chanyeol replies, “Of course I love him. We’ve been best friends for eight years.”

Jongdae just groans and palms his face. Chanyeol himself is surprised at how easy and how naïve he sounds when he says it, but it’s true. It’s the only truth he’s said to him today.

“Whoa, hey, check it out,” Jongdae says suddenly, pointing to something to their side.

At first Chanyeol sees nothing, just a bunch of students lounging outside cafeteria through the view of the glass panes, but he sees a familiar black sweater, and his vision immediately zooms in to Kyungsoo.

Sitting underneath a tree, practically cuddling with Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun.

“What the fuck?” Chanyeol says, leaning forward to make sure he’s not seeing things. Yep, he’s not hallucinating—it’s Kyungsoo, alright, cross-legged with a textbook open. It’s a typical Kyungsoo-ish scene that Chanyeol’s used to seeing, honestly, but with Jongin and Sehun in the picture? It completely throws him off.

“Wow, aren’t they sweet?” Jongdae laughs, and Chanyeol’s pretty sure he’s just saying that to spite him.

Oh Sehun is sleeping peacefully on Kyungsoo’s laugh, while Kim Jongin is sitting _too_ close to him, close enough that they’re shoulder-to-shoulder and Jongin can rest his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder if he slouches a bit.

Out of habit, Chanyeol stands up, ready to walk over and… _do_ something. Then he notices Jongdae watching him carefully with an entertained cat-like glint in his eyes, and he immediately sits back down.

“At least they’re not groping him like you and Baek do,” Chanyeol tries to joke, but it falls flat.

Jongdae keeps watching him.

“Do you want more fries?” Chanyeol squeaks. “I think I want more fries. Should I get you some?”

Jongdae shakes his head, and sighs.

 

……

**jongdaeddy**

baek

sometimes do you

like

have a migraine with how incredibly STUPID chanyeol is

 

**baekhoney**

did he flunk a test again

 

**jongdaeddy**

worse

he’s convinced that his feelings for soo are 100% platonic

 

**baekhoney**

oH

yea sometimes I just wanna get the two of them drunk again

and lock them inside their room so they can

like

finally fuck

with feelings, of course

fucking with feelings

fuckling

 

**jongdaeddy**

fuckling

 

 

**baekhoney**

lol I should be an English major

anyway

chaNYEOL I DON’T THINK WANTING TO BURY YOUR NOSE IN KYUNGSOO’S NECK ALL THE TIME IS 100% PLATONIC

 

**jongdaeddy**

RIGHT

LOL REMEMBER WHEN WE HUNG OUT WITH YIFAN

 

**baekhoney**

kris

 

**jongdaeddy**

whatever

REMEMBER WHEN WE HUNG OUR WITH YIFAN/KRIS

BACK WHEN HE AND SOO WERE DATING

CHANYEOL WAS SO /PRESSED/ THE ENTIRE TIME BC YIFAN WAS HOLDING SOO’S HAND

BOI COULDN’T STOP SQUIRMING

WE HAD TO PHYSICALLY PULL HIM AWAY FROM YIFAN AND SOO

BC HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS ABOUT TO TEAR THEIR HANDS APART

AND HOLD KYUNGSOO’S IN HIS OWN

 

**baekhoney**

tbh that was kinda scary

I worry about yeol sometimes

I get that they’re best friends

and, like, he’s /probably/ got feelings he’s not aware of

but what if one day he steps out of line?

and soo gets mad?

and it causes their friendship to fuck over?

tbh I don’t think yeol can take not being friends with soo

 

**jongdaeddy**

that’s

surprisingly a lot of concern

coming from you

 

**baekhoney**

idk dae

maybe it’s just me

but I honestly can’t imagine soo without yeol

and yeol without soo

even if they’re not dating

they’re like, a package deal you know?

can’t see one without the other

I imagine that’s how chanyeol thinks

 

**jongdaeddy**

idk

 

**baekhoney**

whAT DO YOU MEAN IDK

I TYPE OUT THIS MUCH FOR U AND THIS IS HOW U REACT

YOU’RE USELESS

DON’T MAKE ME KICK U OUT OF OUR ROOM TONIGHT

 

**jongdaeddy**

DON’T MAKE ME KICK U OUT OF MY APARTMENT LOL

I WAS BUYING MYSELF TIME OK

ok

so like

I’ve been thinking too

but don’t you think they need time apart?

 

**baekhoney**

chanyeol couldn’t even live through 24 hours without soo lol

 

**jongdaeddy**

EXACTLY

and they’re not dating!!!!!!!!!!

don’t you think it’s unhealthy to rely on someone /that/ much?

 

**baekhoney**

u know

this convo went from a chanyeol roasting session to a philosophy class real quick

why are u philo majors like that?

 

**jongdaeddy**

I’m sorry

but anyway

yeah that’s my two cents basically

 

baekhoney

your two cents is a pile of shit

 

**jongdaeddy**

yoU WANNA SAY THAT TO MY FACE

….

BAEKHYUN

WAS IT JUST MY IMAGINATION OR DID YOU REALLY JUST RUN DOWN THE HALLWAY WHILE SHOUTING “YOUR TWO CENTS IS A PILE OF SHIT”

 

**baekhoney**

lol

psych majors sure are good at imagining things

 

 

**_……_ **

 

That night, instead of heading straight home, Chanyeol stops by the studio space he shares with another music major, Yoongi, and messes around a bit with his personal projects, hoping for some progress. He’s been making a lot of compositions for class, sure, but he still has his heart set on all the songs he’s got lined up.

Usually, when he’s like this, he’s laser-focused and hard to bother. Several times in the past, he’s had friends come over to watch him work, hoping to have a peek into his creative process, but ultimately they’re all met with disappointment.

Sure, Chanyeol does tune out of his own head once in a while to crack a joke or make sure they’re comfortable, but ultimately, he’s had a few friends leave early out of boredom.

Not that it bothers him or anything. (It does. He used to spend an excessive amount of time and money on apologizing to the people who’ve walked out on him.)

But when the studio door slams close and he hears Kyungsoo’s voice accompany the jingle of the overhead bells as the booth door swings open, Chanyeol takes off his huge headphones and swings around in his favorite office chair to greet Kyungsoo with a wide smile. “Heya.”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo returns with a small smile, closing the glass door gently behind him. “Holing up in here again? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“You could’ve just texted me, you know.”

Kyungsoo shrugs. “I’m here now, aren’t I? I bought you some coffee and a cinnamon roll.”

He sets the two cups and the paper bag down on the glass table, and instead of settling on the couch where guests usually lounge around while waiting for Chanyeol to finish, Kyungsoo pulls a stool over to Chanyeol’s side and sits, looking over all his equipment. “So. What’re you working on?”

Chanyeol tries not to draw too much attention to how their knees are knocking together. “Oh, you know, the usual. I’ve got a lot of stuff piled up from first year that I want to jump back into.”

Kyungsoo nods. “Mm. Anything for us, though?”

“For us?”

The smaller boy slides his hand over to the mouse, opening and closing windows as he checks the contents of Chanyeol’s laptop. “You know. For our next collab.”

“Ah, right. Damn, we haven’t talked much about it lately, no?”

“Yeah. School and work’s been such a drag.” _That, and the fact that you’re always hanging out with Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin._ Kyungsoo hits ctrl+s on the keyboard and closes Chanyeol’s music editor. He raises his eyebrows. “C’mon, we can talk about it over coffee.”

Kyungsoo’s surprisingly placated throughout the discussion. Mostly, it’s just Chanyeol rambling about the songs he’s been into lately, themes that inspire him, certain lyrics that echo in his head whenever Kyungsoo laughs (but he doesn’t dare bring up that last bit. That would be weird.)

Kyungsoo just listens throughout the entire thing, nodding whenever Chanyeol gets especially passionate. The two of them see eye-to-eye when it comes to a lot of things, so discussions with Kyungsoo never really get any difficult. But there’s a certain lull to him this time. Jittery knees, fingers tapping, minimal eye contact, and he keeps checking his phone…he’s distracted, Chanyeol can tell.

“Hey, is that a new shirt you’re wearing?” Chanyeol comments. Not that he’s got Kyungsoo’s entire wardrobe memorized. This one is just so remarkably _nice_ that it screams brand new.

Kyungsoo looks down on himself, like he’d just realized it himself. He frowns, patting himself down. “Uh. Yeah, I bought this the other day with Baekhyun.”

“Really? What for?” Chanyeol sips on his coffee. “Were you supposed to be in a meeting or something?”

“Not…really?” the smaller boy laughs nervously. “It’s not important.”

“It sure _seems_ important. You’re as frugal as a farmer, Soo. You wouldn’t buy new shirts out of nowhere.”

“Well _damn,_ Chanyeol. Not everyone’s a sleazy music major like you.”

Chanyeol fake-gasps dramatically, clutching his chest while whispering, “Ow _, foul,_ Kyungsoo.” To which, Kyungsoo laughs. For real, this time, for the first time that night.

They end up talking longer than they expected. When Chanyeol sees that it’s almost midnight, he suggests that they spend the night in the studio, but Kyungsoo’s got a paper due the next morning, and he needs to get home to get to his laptop.

So they end up taking the last bus back to their complex. Sharing the ride with an old man, two ladies in office attire, and a few freshmen coming home from a party, Chanyeol lets Kyungsoo listen to a few rough demos on his phone.

In a sleepy voice, Kyungsoo provides a few comments on the first few tracks. But when Chanyeol sees him starting to rock his head back and forth into unconsciousness, he scoots closer and lets Kyungsoo lean against him.

The smaller boy makes a noise of protest at first, but ultimately he ends up with his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Sighing contently, Chanyeol pulls the earbuds out of Kyungsoo’s ears gently, trying not to think too much about the smell of Kyungsoo’s cologne, which is unfamiliar and different and just too _new._

Back in the suite, Jongdae raises an eyebrow when Chanyeol enters the living room with a sleepy Kyungsoo trailing behind him. But he says nothing. Just stares at Chanyeol when he watches Kyungsoo trudge over to the room. Judging him. Chanyeol just stares back, eyes wide, daring him to say something.

“Welcome back, Kyungsoo—” Baekhyun starts when he comes out of the bathroom and sees Kyungsoo, but is cut short by the door closing behind him.

“Take it easy,” Chanyeol says after he showers and starts getting ready for bed. Kyungsoo stretches and cracks his knuckles. “I’ll take it easy when I’m _dead._ ” He replies, and furiously starts to type away. Baekhyun enters a few minutes later to complain about click-clacking, but Kyungsoo just gives him the finger.

“What’s his problem?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol.

From his bed, Chanyeol shrugs. “Maybe it’s his shirt?”

Baekhyun glances over at Kyungsoo. “What about the shirt?”

When the rest of the suite is silent, Jongdae and Baekhyun both asleep, Chanyeol greets Kyungsoo goodnight. He gets a muffled _night_ in return, and as he falls asleep, Chanyeol tries not to think too much about the constant _ping-_ ing of Kyungsoo’s laptop, or the chat box that’s open alongside the document Kyungsoo’s working on.

As sleep finally claims him, he catches a whiff of Kyungsoo’s new cologne again and decides that it doesn’t suit him at all.

 

….

 

**baekhoney**

was there something wrong with kyungsoo’s shirt today?

 

**jongdaeddy**

????

I don’t think so?

 

**baekhoney**

lol same thought

park chanyeol’s losing his mind


	3. Chapter 3

“Have you ever gotten over your crush on him from highschool?” Baekhyun asks, while they’re at the library. They’re doing some last-minute refreshing of notes for midterms, just the two of them, so Chanyeol’s understandably focused on his binder. He’s looking for his contemporary arts notes. When Baekhyun prods him the question again, all he answers is a distracted, “Who?”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Ah—!” he accidentally tears the corner of one page in surprise. “Oh, shit, that was business ethics, shit...”

Baekhyun clicks his tongue, and wrestles the binder out of Chanyeol’s hand just as he tries to smoothen out the page (and pretend that the question was never poised.) “Stop pretending to be organized, your notes look like you’ve been writing them while being thrown off Seoul Tower. Have you gotten over your crush on Kyungsoo?”

“Whoa, that was years ago Baek. What the hell.” Chanyeol scoffs, half-heartedly reaching out for his notes, clicking his tongue in pretend annoyance, but honestly, he himself knows that he’s blushing up until his ears.

Baekhyun sees this (he barely misses things like this) and breaks out into a big grin. “Ow, c’mon, Chanyeol. There’s no need to be shy about it. I had a crush on Kyungsoo in highschool. Kyungsoo was cute as hell.”

“He still is, though?” Whoa. What the hell is he saying? Things like that, they stay in your head, Park Chanyeol. Note to self.

Baekhyun giggles. “Yeah, but, like, college is a big place and there are more significantly cuter people around. They kinda stand out more than him? But that’s beside the point. You were so whipped for him in highschool. Do you remember?”

“I didn’t have a crush on him,” Chanyeol mumbles, for probably the thousandth time in this lifetime. “I was dating Minseok.”

For once, Baekhyun keeps quiet and just stares at him.

Chanyeol fidgets. “Okay…maybe I did—”

“HA!” Baekhyun throws the binder into the air.

“—but that’s a thing of the past now, I’m over it.” Chanyeol finishes.

Baekhyun just grins at him from across the table. “That’s what you say, but, like…why’d you go all cuckoo when he dated Kris last year?”

“I didn’t go cuckoo. When did I go cuckoo?”

Baekhyun ignores his question and taps a pencil against his lips. “Come to think of it, Soo goes wacko every time you date someone, too.”

“Yeah, he does—” Chanyeol suddenly has way too many petty fight flashbacks flashing before his eyes. “But, like…he’s just looking after me.”

Wow, is this what talking to his best friends have come to? Repeating the same lie over and over again?

“Looking out for you? That’s how you look after each other?”

“Yeah, well…he’s my best friend.”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “So, since you claim you’re so over your crush on him, does that mean he can date other people without you scaring them off like a mother hen?”

Something ignites at the bottom of Chanyeol’s stomach, but he presses it down in favor of actually thinking about the question. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

Baekhyun perks up in interest. “W-What? Really? How come?”

Chanyeol bites his lip. God, it’s so hard to weave an elaborate web of lies when in fact it’ll only take one truth to rip everything apart. He likes Kyungsoo. God. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he likes Kyungsoo.

 _Because I like him!_ Chanyeol wants to scream. _I like him and I want…I want..I just want to hold his hand._

But over the years, he’s found out that voicing out thoughts like these get him in trouble. After all, most of his exes broke up with him using the same line: you’re a little too much for me. So, he shuts up, and gives a non-committal shrug. “I dunno. It’ll feel weird. It’s been a while since either of us have dated. I’m not sure how to react.”

Chanyeol can see a flame ignite in Baekhyun’s eyes, and for a moment he fears that maybe he’s given too much away, that Baekhyun can now clearly see him and his disgusting thoughts about Kyungsoo—

—but thankfully, his saving grace swoops in in the form of Oh Sehun, with Kim Jongin trailing behind him.

“Hi, hyung,” Sehun greets Chanyeol, and from the corner of his vision, Chanyeol sees Baekhyun’s eyes widen in interest, and can practically hear the gears of the smaller boy’s mind working.

Never in his life did he be so relieved to see the two freshmen. “Sehun!” Chanyeol grins, surging forward and wrapping Sehun in a bro-hug, just to put on a show for Baekhyun. “How’s my favorite maknae going along?”

“Fuck you, I’m the only maknae you know,” Sehun grumbles, trying to pry Chanyeol away from him.

“Hi, hyung,” a red-faced Kim Jongin says behind Sehun.

Chanyeol blinks. “Oh, hey.” Points for enthusiasm, Park.

“Jongin wants to borrow your Oral Communication notes,” As Sehun says this, Kim Jongin dips his head lower, hiding his face behind his bangs, and majority of his body behind his best friend’s. “This idiot here lost his binder this morning and is on the verge of a mental breakdown—oW!”

“Too much information,” Kim Jongin frowns. He’s fairly cute, Chanyeol finds himself bitter to admit.

Somebody clears his throat beside him, and it actually took Chanyeol a few seconds to remember that Baekhyun is with him.

“Hi,” Baekhyun smiles sweetly at the two freshmen. It’s his signature smile—the wolfish one that’s the last one most people see before they fall for the sly boy Baekhyun is. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Baekhyun.”

Sehun raises an eyebrow at him, then Chanyeol. “He’s a friend of mine.” Chanyeol coughs. “And Kyungsoo’s.” he adds.

“Oh Sehun,” Sehun nods, ignoring Baekhyun’s blinding smile completely. Then, behind him, comes a much softer and kinder, “Kim Jongin.”

“So, those notes?” Sehun insists.

Chanyeol snatches his binder out of Baekhyun’s hands. “Okay. So, I kinda need these notes, too. Would it be fine if you, um, just took pictures of them, Jongin?”

Jongin nodded. Quietly, he stepped out from behind Sehun’s figure, phone in hand. Really, he’s so timid, why does Kyungsoo—oh.

Jongin’s smiling at him. Blindingly. It’s a small smile, but it’s charming enough to knock the wind out of Chanyeol’s lungs. It could even rival Baekhyun, if only Chanyeol liked him a little more.

Wordlessly, he opens his binder to the page of his Oral Comm notes, and lets Jongin takes pictures while Baekhyun continues to unsuccessfully befriend a silent Sehun.

“We should hang out sometime,” Baekhyun tries cheerfully. “You, me, Chanyeol, Jongin, Kyungsoo…oh, and Jongdae, too, even if he’s such a mom sometimes.”

All Sehun ever replies are non-committal grunts and sideway glances to Chanyeol that scream, _please help me, hyung._

Finally, when he’s done, Jongin shoots Chanyeol that smile again, bowing and muttering a quick “thank you,” before grabbing Sehun by the arm and dragging him back to their table across the library.

“Wow, they’re cute,” Baekhyun sighs, resting his chin in his palm as he watches the two freshmen. “If I were Kyungsoo, I’d ditch you guys for them, too.”

It’s a joke, Chanyeol gets that for sure, but…he can’t help but feel uneasy.

 

…..

 

**baekhoney**

joNGDAE

GUESS WHO I MET TODAY

JONGIN AND SEHUN

KIM JONGIN!!!

ANG OH SEHUN!!!!!!!!

**jongdaeddy**

baekhyun do I look like I give a flying fuck

**baekhoney**

but they’re

KIM JONGIN AND OH SEHUN

**jongdaeddy**

they’re freshmen who dance, baekhyun

do you know who else dances?

yixing

and oh, he’s the dance troupe captain, in case you forget

jongin and sehun are just kids

next

 

**baehoney**

MEAN

they’re actually pretty nice tho??

I mean, we only talked for a few minutes but they don’t seem so bad

they hog kyungsoo all the time but aside from that they seem cool

hey jongdae do you think they’re single??

I’m scrolling through their instagrams right now and see no girlfriends

or boyfriends

:)))))

do you think kyungsoo is willing to share?

jongdae

JONGDAEEEE

DID YOU PUT YOUR PHONE ON SILENT AGAIN?

YA KNOW, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND

DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD EXPRESS SUCH CRUEL

DISINTEREST TO US SINGLES WHO’RE LOOKING

FOR LOVE

did you get your phone confiscated??

jongdae :(

fiNE

DON’T TALK TO ME WHEN WE GET TO TONIGHT’S SHIFT OKAY

I’M NOT GOING TO PROPERLY WASH THE DISHES

LATER JUST TO SPITE YOU

LATER LOSER

 

 

……

 

Weeks later, after the final wave of midterm exams passes, Baekhyun barges through the door, the cold November wind whipping his scarf around as enters, and shouts into the suite, “WE’RE GOING OUT FOR KARAOKE!”

Chanyeol, who had been half-alseep on Kyungsoo’s lap while watching reruns of _Katekyo Hitman Reborn_ on the TV, immediately sat up. “ _Fuck_ yes. I’ve been dying to go out.”

“Jongdae’s already at the grocery for alcohol. I’ll grab us a change of clothes. You should too, then we can head out.” Baekhyun says before dashing towards his and Jongdae’s room. “We’re going to celebrate tonight!”

Chanyeol turns to Kyungsoo, who he had bundled into a burrito of blankets earlier. After their exam, Kyungsoo’s nose won’t stop running, and he kept sneezing every ten seconds. Chanyeol had shouldered the responsibility of taking care of him the rest of the afternoon.

“Oh, Soo, are you feeling up to it?” Chanyeol coos, noting the way Kyungsoo looks positively _miserable_ under all the blankets. He’s cradling a hot cup of tea in his hands, small fingers barely making it through the holes of his sweater.

“You guys go ahead,” Kyungsoo sniffles, eyes trained on the screen. “Don’t hold back on my account. You did well on your exam—go ahead and celebrate.”

“What? Kyungsoo, you’re not coming?” Baekhyun says. He’s already nicked one of Jongdae’s expensive coats around his shoulders (something he does quite often that the other boy doesn’t notice.)

“Nope. Somebody’s gotta suffer through the training arc while you guys are gone.” Kyungsoo sips on his tea. He coughs, and Chanyeol feels his chest tighten a bit.

It only takes one shared look between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He and Kyungsoo may have known each other the longest, but Baekhyun’s the best at reading the atmosphere, and he and Chanyeol have a synchrony that works _so_ well on occasions such as these. Chanyeol nods, and Baekhyun breaks into a grin.

“Jongdae, babe, forget the alcohol. Get us some medicine and juice. And, uh,” Baekhyun pulls away from the phone long enough to shout to Chanyeol, who’s in the kitchen, pots and pans banging as he get ready to cook. “What’s the least shitty thing you can make, Chanyeol?”

“A hotpot would probably be nice for tonight,” Chanyeol murmers to himself.

“Right. Hotpot, Dae! Get us stuff for hotpot!”

“You guys are unbelievable.” Kyungsoo says as he wanders into the kitchen, still wrapped like a burrito. Seeing him like this, his cheeks flushed red from his cold, so small and protected, kind-of-wiling to be doted on…Chanyeol’s chest bursts with an unexplainable fondness. He wants to reach out and wrap in in a hug, but he’s got stuff to prepare. So instead, he shoots Kyungsoo a smile, and a sort-of-flirtacious-but-kinda-awkward wink at him. “Babe, sit back and let us take care of you.”

“Yixing’s coming over!” Baekhyun bursts into the kitchen, wrapping Kyungsoo in a hug and pulling him back into the couch to cuddle, much to Kyungsoo’s protest. Chanyeol just laughs as he starts boiling the water.

Jongdae arrives shortly, with Yixing in tow carrying the groceries. He joins Baekhyun in wrestling Kyungsoo on the couch, ruffling his hair like a child while Baekhyun pats Kyungsoo’s butt with appreciative pats while chanting, “pain, pain, go away!”

“Nice place you’ve got here,” Yixing smiles as he enters the kitchen. Chanyeol smiles back. He truly likes Yixing’s prescience in the apartment. It makes him feel more confident that they’re not going to burn the entire place down to the ground.

“Thanks, hyung.” He replies as Yixing deposits the groceries on the counter. Chanyeol pours a cup of tea for him and lets him sit and watch at the dinner table as he prepares the hotpot.

They catch up while Chanyeol cooks. Yixing tells him stories about his routine and the dance troupe, occasionally mentioning Sehun and Jongin. Chanyeol tells his hyung about the bars he’s performed at, and the new cover he and Kyungsoo are working on. From the living room, the sound of bickering and laughing and random Japanese phrases are background music to Chanyeol’s ears.

“Why don’t you go join them?” Yixing says, suddenly at his side taking the ladle from his hands.

Although Chanyeol lets him stir the pot, he doesn’t move and just watches his three best friends from the kitchen with his hip cocked to the side. “I don’t know. At least someone should be healthy enough to take care of them when they all come down with the cold from snuggling Kyungsoo, right?”

Yixing laughs at that. “Is that so? Maybe you want to snuggle him on your own?”

“Wh—Hyung!”

“Just kidding.” Yixing chuckles, taking a sip of what they’re cooking. “But really. It’s written all over your face, Yeollie. Go ahead, I got this.”

Yixing smacks Chanyeol’s ass with the ladle, and makes a little ”shoo, shoo,” gesture before turning his back to focus on what they’re cooking.

Chanyeol washes his hands and bounds over to the couch to join his friends. Kyungsoo is _still_ a cute-as-hell burrito, but now he’s got his head on Jongdae’s lap, and his feet on Baekhyun’s. He’s frowning and looking like the most unwilling patient ever. They’re taking up the entire couch, so Chanyeol settles on the armchair across them.

“Hey, so a little birdie told me something,” Baekhyun says, out of the blue, as he massages Kyungsoo’s feet. “Kim Jongin asked you out on a date?”

 _A little birdie named Oh Sehun, probably_. Chanyeol stiffens at that. From the corner of his eye, he can see Jongdae shoot him a quick look, before bursting out, “NANI?!”

“Turn the TV off, Jongdae’s watched too much anime.” Kyungsoo grumbles.

Baekhyun flicks a finger at his forehead. “Ow! What the hell, Baek—”

“Yah, stop changing the topic! How did the date go?” Baekhyun’s tone was overenthusiastic. He’s oblivious to how Chanyeol’s sinking further into the armrest. And, to Kyungsoo’s growing annoyance.

“There _was_ no date, okay?” Kyungsoo said sharply, causing Jongdae and Baekhyun and Chanyeol to flinch. “I wasn’t feeling up to it, so I cancelled with him and worked with Chanyeol’s for our song in the studio.”

Chanyeol made a noise. “You were supposed to be on a date back then?”

Kyungsoo’s glanced over to him. Something looked unsure in his eyes. “Yeah. But like I said, I didn’t feel like it. I felt much more comfortable spending time with you.”

It’s a careful statement, something that was supposed to sound pacifying, but instead of feeling better from it, Chanyeol’s gut falls further. He feels much, much more uncomfortable.

“Well, do you like him then?” Baekhyun asks, ignorant to the dagger-like looks Jongdae shoots him. “Poor Jonginnie’s been sulking the entire week.”

Kyungsoo pauses and looks thoughtful.

_No._

For some reason, Chanyeol doesn’t want to hear his answer. Regardless of whether it’s a yes or no, he doesn’t want to hear it.

He stands up from his spot on the armchair and excuses himself to the kitchen. Yixing sees him walk in, and he must’ve sensed that there was something wrong, because he frowns in worry. “Something wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine,” Chanyeol laughs shakily. He takes the ladle again from Yixing, ignoring how weak his hands feel.

He stirs the pot, ignoring how his thoughts are boiling over.

He lowers the flames, ignoring how the flickering in his chest is rising into something dangerous.

“Chanyeol.” Yixing states firmly when Chanyeol starts bringing out the bowls. Chanyeol looks at him, and Yixing’s got his arms crossed, accompanying the stern look on his face.

For a moment, images of Yixing lifting his best friends over his shoulders flash across Chanyeol’s eyes, but it’s immediately gone when a small smile graces Yixing’s face. “Are you okay?”

Chanyeol lets out a shaky breath. “Yeah. Kind of. Not really.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll manage.”

They eat the hotpot while gathered on the couch, exchanging the anime for the nightly news as background noise for them as they talk.

Chanyeol is uncharacteristically quiet tonight, simply listening in and laughing along as Yixing catches up with the others and tells stories from dance practice. Jongdae looks happy, leaning against his boyfriend’s shoulder. Baekhyun looks happy, having a captive audience to his jokes.

Kyungsoo looks as small and miserable as Chanyeol is, staring down at his hotpot while pouting.

Later, when Chanyeol volunteers to do the dishes, he walks into the kitchen (still in that damningly cute blanket) and says, all serious, “Chanyeol.”

“Was there something weird in the hotpot?” Chanyeol laughs, trying to ease the tense atmosphere Kyungsoo walks in with.

“No, it was good. Just didn’t feel like eating tonight.” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Look, Chanyeol, I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, Soo,” Chanyeol says quickly, because really. It’s okay. He doesn’t have to talk about it. (Chanyeol doesn’t want to talk about it.)

Kyungsoo fidgets. Behind him, Jongdae, Baekhyun and Yixing are putting on a movie from Kyungsoo’s huge-ass movie collection. “Okay. So, like, this might be a foreign concept to someone as shameless as you but…I kinda feel like an ass about the entire thing. I dunno. I feel like I’ve been caught cheating.”

Chanyeol laughs. “Soo, I swear, I’m fine. No worries.” Just…stop talking about it.

Kyungsoo pauses, and for a second Chanyeol’s relieved that he’s finally dropped the topic, but no—Kyungsoo walks over to his side and starts boiling water as he washes the dishes.

“For tea.” he explains when Chanyeol frowns at him.

They just kind of stand side-by-side like that, Kyungsoo watching Chanyeol as he washes the dishes. Chanyeol trying not to break anything while Kyungsoo waits for the kettle to sound.

“Do you like Jongin?” Chanyeol finally asks, breaking the silence.

He’ll find out eventually, he figures, so he might as well metaphorically stab himself right between the eyes and hear it from Kyungsoo himself. 

Kyungsoo shrugs. “He’s nice.”

It’s not a yes. But it’s not a no, either.

“Why’d you flake on him, then?”

“I dunno…I got cold feet, I guess.”

Chanyeol laughs (he hopes it doesn’t sound bitter). “Wow. You must really like him, then. You were never this nervous with anyone before.”

Another shrug. “Maybe.”

Silence.

The kettle starts to whistle. Chanyeol finishes washing the dishes.

He breathes in deeply. “Are you going to ask him out, then?”

“Uh, perhaps? I don’t want anything serious right now, though…”

“What, so you’re just stringing the poor guy along, then?”

Kyungsoo shoots him a look. “I’m not stringing him along.”

A pause. Chanyeol considers his words. “You’re not? You are a hundred percent aware that he likes you, right? That spending time with you means something special to him? Why lead him on, then? Poor guy’s got feelings, you know.”

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes. “Hey, just because he’s likes me doesn’t mean I’m obligated to go out with him.”

Chanyeol doesn’t meet his gaze. He pretends to be too busy putting the plates back into their respective shelves. “Yeah, but, like…why beat around the bush? You’re obviously going to end up going out with him. You already hang out with him and Sehun more than you do with us. It’ll only be a matter of time that you see something charming enough him. I mean, that’s how it went with Kris, right?”

Something akin—but not quite—to anger flashes in Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Screw you. I’m not like you, you know. I don’t sleep with just anybody.”

“Don’t make this about me,” Chanyeol counters.

“Stop sticking your nose into my business, then!” Kyungsoo bursts, slamming a mug so hard on the countertop Chanyeol’s surprised it doesn’t break. “Stop hovering around me like a goddam insect! God, you’re so annoying…”

It takes Chanyeol all his pride to not let his jaw drop. An insect? That’s what Kyungsoo thinks of him?

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything. Just angrily takes the mug and pours himself a cup of tea. In his haste, he pours a fair amount of scalding water all over his fingers.

“Shit!” he seethes, withdrawing his hands quickly. On pure instinct, Chanyeol moves forward and takes Kyungsoo’s hand into his. “Shit, are you okay? Here, lemme get you a—”

Kyungsoo pulls his hands away from him abruptly. He might as well have slapped Chanyeol across the face.

“Don’t touch me,” Kyungsoo spats. He’s leering, eyes misty but so full of anger that Chanyeol moves away in fear that he might explode.

Kyungsoo sniffles, and Chanyeol feels himself shrinking. He doesn’t know if it’s from Kyungsoo’s cold, the burn, or from something else.

“Shit, Kyungsoo, I’m sorry—”

Wordlessly, Kyungsoo walks out of the kitchen, leaving his cup of tea behind.

 

…..

 

Late into the night, midway through their marathon of the two Kingsman movies, Kyungsoo stands up and throws the blanket off of himself.

“I’m heading out,” he says, grabbing a jacket (never mind whose) from their coat rack and shrugging it on. “Sehun just texted me.”

“What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks. He’s snuggled up against Chanyeol with half a dozen pillows around them, hogging all the popcorn and giggling whenever Colin Firth comes out.

Normally, it would be Kyungsoo’s body up against him during movie nights like these, their limbs tangled together underneath a blanket, but after their earlier fiasco, he had claimed the armchair and sulked all alone with his blanket wrapped tighter against himself.

“They’re at a party. Jongin’s shitfaced and they need a ride back to the dorms.”

“Sounds like freshmen year Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.” Baekhyun laughs. Chanyeol winces.

“Wait, are you sure you’re in the condition to drive?” Jongdae frets. Yixing pulls away from him, and he stands up. “I’ll go with you.”

“Me, too!” Baekhyun cheers. He grabs his phone from the coffee table and grins. “Gotta be there during the kids’ first drunk night out, right?”

There’s are a few beats of silence as the three boys move around the room, trying to get ready. Chanyeol tries to sink further into the couch. Across him, Yixing raises his eyebrow.

“You’re not coming, Yeol?” Jongdae asks, hanging back as Kyungsoo exits the suite wordlessly.

“I’ll pass.” Chanyeol says. It comes out a squeak, his voice hoarse from not talking throughout the duration of the first movie.

There must’ve been something obviously wrong with him, because Jongdae and Baekhyun share A Look.

“Suite yourself, then.” Baekhyun says, voice chipper but lacking a few decibels.

When the sound of their car pulling out of the driveway fades into silence, Yixing sits up and clears his throat. “Quite an argument you two had back in the kitchen.”

Chanyeol rubs his face and sighs tiredly. “You heard?”

“I wanted to get a glass of water for Dae, but, uh…you guys sounded angry, so I just hid behind the wall.” Yixing leans forward. Takes the remote control and pauses the movie. He smiles sadly, the same smile the four of them have learned to count on. “Seems serious. Want to tell me about it?”

God. Does he want to. Seeing Yixing like this, so open and caring and ready to listen…Chanyeol wants to come clean. Wants to tell someone. How he’s so hopelessly attached to Kyungsoo. On how much he wants him, loves him, cares for him…

God. He’s so close to spilling everything. But he’s embarrassed of his actions. He’s being an ass, he knows, but he just can’t help it.

Conflicted, Chanyeol shakes his head. And he shuts his mouth.

“Maybe next time.”

He ignores the disappointed look on Yixing’s face.

Chanyeol grabs the remote and continues to movie. He whispers under his breath, “I’m such an idiot.”

 

…..

 

**baekhoney**

I called shotgun the moment we left the suite

WHY ARE YOU RIDING RIGHT NEXT TO KYUNGSOO

JONGDAE

JONGDAE

JONGDAE

JONGDAE

JONGDAE

**jongdaeddy**

whY ARE YOU TEXTING ME

WE’RE LITERALLY A FEW INCHES AWAY FROM EACH OTHER

**baekhoney**

BC KYUNGSOO LOOKS SO MAD

tbh I feel like if I open my mouth rn

he’d probably kick me unto the curb

and drive away

jongdaeddy

one of these days, he will

**baekhoney**

:<<<<

he and yeol were acting so weird earlier

did you notice?

 

**jongdaeddy**

they were arguing in the kitchen earlier, baek

 

**baekhoney**

WHAT

 

**jongdaeddy**

didn’t you hear anything?!?!?!

they were LOUD

in an angry way, of course

 

**baekhoney**

what were they fighting about?

 

**jongdaeddy**

idk, I couldn’t make out the words

I’ll bet you 500 won it’s about jongin and sehun

 

**baekhoney**

bet you 1000 it’s about unresolved issues they’ve left to rot

**jongdaeddy**

oops

oh man kyungsoo is REALLY mad

im scared

can he drive stick properly when he’s mad?

baekhoney

I don’t know???

should I drive????

I don’t want to die, dae

whY IS HE SO ANGRY

I JUST ASKED IF HE WANTED ME TO DRIVE

JONGDAE I DON’T WANT TO DIIIIIIEEEEEEE

 

…..

 

The next day, Chanyeol wakes up to an empty bed beside his. And a text from Junmyeon, saying he’s got a job for him, that they should meet in the afternoon to discuss it.

Chanyeol’s torn between considering whether the morning was a good one or a bad one. On one hand, he’s got a job in a few days, on the other, he’s lacking a best friend. His stomach churns as he remembers the night before.

An insect? Is he…is he annoying Kyungsoo? Is that what this is about?

When he steps out into the living room, he finds Yixing sprawled across the couch, a sleeping Jongdae lying on top of him. Yixing puts up a finger to his mouth _. Shhh._

“We got back late last night,” Baekhyun explains as he eats last night’s leftovers and Chanyeol pours himself a cup of coffee. “And, uh, Kyungsoo stayed behind to take care of Jongin and Sehun. We dropped them off at the dorms.”

“I didn’t ask,” Chanyeol grumbles.

Baekhyun looks away. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

When Chanyeol gets to his first period, music theory, Kyungsoo isn’t there. He refrains from asking about him from a half-asleep Sehun during second.

Morning break, he sees Kyungsoo at the cafeteria. Sitting across Jongin, holding his hands, talking to him gently.

When their eyes meet, Chanyeol turns on his heel and runs.

 

…..

 

“Wow, you look winded out,” Junmyeon laughs when Chanyeol enters the café they agreed to meet at in the afternoon. “Is school really that tough? I don’t think I remember it being that tough.”

(Like he’s one to talk. Junmyeon’s still taking grad school, and occasionally Chanyeol sees him on the campus, busy with something and trying so hard not to lose his shit in front of everybody.)

Junmyeon slides a cup of iced coffee from across the table, and Chanyeol takes it gratefully. “Yeah…everything was crazy, with finals and stuff, but it’s all good now. I’m pretty nervous about the results, though.”

Junmyeon claps him on the back. “Don’t fret. You’ve always done well in school.”

He must be talking out of his ass. Chanyeol’s never done well in school. Only well enough so that he doesn’t, like, crash and burn every semester or so.

“So you’ve got a gig for me?” Chanyeol clears his throat.

Junmyeon clears his throat, his voice suddenly turning serious. “Yeah. I’ve got a friend who’s doing a business venture. He’s opening a bistro downtown, and he wants a couple local acts to play this Friday to attract his target market which is—well, college students who’ve got a fair bit of money in their pockets.”

“Go on,” Chanyeol nodes, a sudden rush of excitement overcoming him. Junmyeon’s gigs for him are always great. With his connections, he usually has Chanyeol play for hotels and fancy clubs and corporate events. The pay is always good.

“I mentioned you,” Junmyeon continues. “Just brought up the fact that your song was aired on the radio the other week—hey, congrats by the way—and it impressed him. Now he wants you to perform that song, and a couple others at the gig.”

Chanyeol sort-of-hears a screeching-to-a-stop noise in his head, halting his thoughts of fame and money. “But, hyung…that song—”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Junmyeon laughs and slaps his forehead, like oh, how silly of me! “I’ve got you and Kyungsoo signed up as a duo—duet? Cuz he sang with you, of course. The owner wants him there, too. Maybe you can ask him to sing a few more songs with you, if that’s cool? I hope you don’t mind.”

Chanyeol takes a deep breath in, and doesn’t exhale for quite some time. “Kyungsoo and I aren’t really on speaking terms right now,” he quickly says. Junmyeon’s eyes widen.

“What? Oh, son, what happened?”

“Please don’t call me son.” Chanyeol frowns.                                               

Junmyeon waves his hand, as if to dismiss that comment. “Want to tell Daddy Myeon what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s fine. Just a little rough patch. The usual. Uh…is it okay if I ask Baekhyun to sing with me instead?”

Junmyeon sighs, trying to hide his disappointment. “I dunno…”

Chanyeol sighs. It would be a shame to turn down this job. It’s been a while since he’s last had a gig, and as much as he loves how producing and composing have a therapeutic feeling on him, he misses the rush of an applause, and the adrenaline it comes with. The performer in him is itching to have a crowd again.

“Fine, I’ll take it,” Chanyeol says, trying not to let his hesitation show.

It fails. Junmyeon doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure you and Kyungsoo are okay?” he asks, genuine concern lacing his voice.

Chanyeol shakes his head. His hyungs are so caring. He doesn’t deserve any of them. “No, it’s okay. It’s nothing we’ve haven’t went through before.”

Junmyeon shakes his head. He looks like he wants to say something else, but instead he finishes the last of his coffee and starts to collect his things. “I’ll text you my friend’s number, once you’ve got things settled.” Once you make up with Kyungsoo, is the unspoken message in his eyes. He stands up and puts his hand out to shake on it. “Friday night. Don’t forget.”

“I’ll contact you,” Chanyeol tries, shaking Junmyeon’s hand firmly to compensate for his lack of conviction.

Before he leaves, Junmyeon stops at the door and calls out to Chanyeol again. “Yeol?” his eyebrows shoot up, looking at him expectantly.

“Alright, alright,” Chanyeol waves him off, laughing a bit. “I’ll have things settled before Friday. Don’t worry.”

 

…..

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t come home that night, and when Jongdae confronts him about it the next day, he simply brushes it off with some lame excuse the three of them could see right through when Jongdae animatedly relays their encounter come lunchtime.

“He worked extra hours and stayed over at Professor Insung’s place, he said.” Jongdae grumbles. Chanyeol finds it uncomfortable to see him get irked like this. “But I saw him at the convenience store buying coffee with Sehun this morning.”

Baekhyun gasps. “He hates convenience store coffee!”

“I know, right?” Jongdae jabs his fork at Chanyeol. “He’s avoiding us and it’s all your fault, Yeol.”

Chanyeol sputters. “My fault?!”

Jongdae gives him A Look. “Yeah. He didn’t say much when we drove to pick up Sehun and Jongin, but we all heard the ~tiny~ argument you two had in the kitchen.”

There’s a beat of silence for a moment, before Baekhyun turns to Chanyeol. “Did you get jealous again?” he asks, exasperated. “Wow, that’s record-breaking, Yeol. Soo and Jongin haven’t even officially started dating.”

“They might be, though.” Chanyeol corrects, his mind leading him to the hand-holding in the cafeteria the other day.

Jongae and Baekhyun stare at him. “So, now what, you’re gonna go batshit crazy on the entire student body trying to win Kyungsoo back again, is that it?” Baekhyun laughs, though a sting of sarcasm is present there. 

“Hey, I never tried to, “win him back”,” Chanyeol air quotes.

Jongdae snatches the soy sauce from across the table. “Oh, we actually meant something along the lines of, ‘win him back as your best friend’.” This time, the sarcasm is blatantly evident in his voice.

Chanyeol sighs. They’re deliberately trying to lure him into a trap. He’s too tired to argue, so he doesn’t bite.

“I really do actually have to win him back this week, though,” he says tiredly. “I have a gig coming up, and I need him to sing for me.”

Jongdae looks uninterested now, huffing as he stabs at his dumplings, but Baekhyun looks mildly amused. “So, are you gonna, like, buy him chocolates? Fold him paper roses again? Serenade him?”

By the end of dinner, he’s slightly annoyed at how unhelpful and annoying the two have been, so he stomps into his bedroom and locks himself in for the rest of the night, leaving Baekhyun and Jongdae to clean up and wash the dishes.

Chanyeol tries to work on homework to get his mind off of things, but he can’t focus. Not when he’s got his phone right next to him, watching it closely as he waits for a call, a text, anything from Kyungsoo, to indicate that they’re Okay.

A problem set in he still has nothing, so he takes initiative and shoots a quick, _where are you?_ to Kyungsoo. He sees a quick _seen_ float into view after a few minutes, but as the night drew on and he does end up finally finishing his work, he gives up and turns in for the night, simmering and trying not to think too hard about how Kyungsoo left him on read.

 

…..

 

Tuesday has Chanyeol physically _aching_ at how much he misses Kyungsoo.

It’s crazy. He’s used to not having Kyungsoo around for an entire day (things can get pretty busy between Chanyeol’s two majors and Kyungsoo’s job), but it’s weird, knowing he’s not welcome to pick up Kyungsoo after classes, knowing that when he shoots a text he’s most likely to be left on read again.

He figures that it’s just Kyungsoo wanting some space. Chanyeol totally understands. It just bothers him that instead of actually _asking_ for it, Kyungsoo goes around and acusses him of being too _overbearing._

Okay, Chanyeol’s aware on some levels that he’s being a dick, but…god, he thought they’d established a stronger trust bond than this.

(And to be called an insect…tsk, Chanyeol may be an ass, but Kyungsoo’s not really _that_ innocent himself.)

Wednesday has Chanyeol wondering if he overestimated himself this time

“You can’t cancel _now_ ,” Junmyeon says over the phone, not exactly angry, but tone bordering pissed. “There wouldn’t be enough time to find a replacement for you.”

“I can ask around the music department,” Chanyeol replies, because he’s _that_ desperate. “Or—Or I can perform on my own. Can I perform on my own? How about with Baekhyun or Dae? They can sing, too.”

Junmyeon sighs. “You know, I thought you’d be more responsible now, Chanyeol.” he says, and promptly hangs up, leaving Chanyeol to gawk helplessly at his phone.

“Who was that?” Sehun asks.

Chanyeol shrugs in reply. “Just Junmyeon,”

Sehun _tsks,_ and pretends to study his nails. Of course he wouldn’t interested in hearing about the old men Chanyeol hangs out with. “Well, what was he grilling you for?”

“He wants me and Kyungsoo to play at the opening of his friend’s bar.”

This time, Sehun turns to him fully, ignoring the frown their professor gives them at that. “Oh, wow. That’s really cool, hyung. Congrats.

Chanyeol replies with a sheepish smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Uh, why do you look so miserable, though?”

They’ve established this weird connection between the two of them—their relationship mostly consists of going out for food together after class whenever their respective friend groups aren’t available, and the fact that Sehun likes to bug him while Chanyeol tries to keep his grades up in class.

Not that he minds it much, these days. Sehun’s cool—the two of them click over a lot of things. Comic books, local underground no-name bands, streetwear brands…Chanyeol’s not as synchronized with Sehun as much as he is with any of his suitemates, but he does manage to stand on the same ground with him most of the time.

Chanyeol figured that Sehun, with his timid nature and snide comments, would have harder walls to break down, but he’s surprisingly receptive and sublime, once he warms up to someone.

And despite being a somewhat-rival to Kyungsoo’s affections, Chanyeol can say that he actually _likes_ Sehun.

Minus his annoying habit of asking him to pay the bill and promising to pay him back on a day which will probably never come.

He’s not sure if they’ve reached the level where he can sulk and talk about his _feelings_ though. Sehun doesn’t seem like the type, either. And it doesn’t help that he’s somehow indirectly involved in all of this.

“Well, Soo and I aren’t exactly on talking terms lately?” That’s an understatement. They’re literally _ghosting_ each other, he and Kyungsoo.

On rare occasions when Chanyeol musters up the courage to approach him to apologize, Kyungsoo noticeably doubles his efforts to make sure their paths don’t cross.

And on the even rarer occasions of sheer luck that they end up walking towards each other in the same hallway, or ride the same bus, Chanyeol chickens out the last minute and ends up ducking into a classroom or switching vehicles.

“Why’s that?” Sehun asks.

Chanyeol turns to him. He has absolutely _no_ idea, does he?

“Just something really petty…” he replies awkwardly.

Sehun nods. “Well, if you _do_ end up performing, am I invited?”

This surprises Chanyeol a bit. “You want to watch?”

“Yeah.” Sehun nod, a hint of enthusiasm gracing his features. His fingers start drumming on his desk. “You’re performing _Sing For You,_ right?”

The fact that Sehun knows about their song takes Chanyeol aback even more. “Oh, don’t look so surprised, there was a time that everybody in school kept talking about it.” Sehun deadpans. “It’s a great song, though. Good job, by the way, hyung.”

Chanyeol is even more stunned. “Thanks?” he says lamely.

“So, can I watch you?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. Of course.” Chanyeol shakes his head, trying to fight back the small smile forming on his lips. He never did draw validation from other’s compliments on his music, but it’s always nice to hear someone you know appreciate what you do. “I’ll text you the address when…uh... _if_ we do get to perform.”

For a moment, Sehun looks thoughtful. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll see you on Friday.”

As he turns away to listen in once again to class, Chanyeol can see the hints of a small smile blooming across Sehun’s face.

 

…..

 

Later that afternoon, Chanyeol comes home to find Kyungsoo cooking in the kitchen.

“Shit,” On instinct, his feet start shuffling backwards towards the door, but Kyungsoo, wiith his back towards him, calls out in a no-nonsense voice, _“Chanyeol.”_

Chanyeol collides with a cupboard, causing some cutlery to fall to the floor. Kyungsoo turns to him now, and seeing the mess he’s made, glares. “You’d better clear that up.”

 _Shit._ “Uh! Yeah.” Immediately, Chanyeol jumps into action, quickly picking up the utensils.

Then he realizes how stupid he probably looks, _still_ at Kyungsoo’s beck and call despite being ignored for _days_ without a word.

In retaliation for his hurt pride, Chanyeol angrily returns the utensils into the cupboard, making sure to make as much noise to piss Kyungsoo off.

It works. Kyungsoo turns away from the stove immediately, and sends and even angrier look to Chanyeol. “Why are you _angry?!”_

“I have every right to be,” Chanyeol scoffs. “Where have you been? Why haven’t you been returning my texts?”

Kyungsoo’s jaw drops. “ _You_ have the right to be angry? You accused me of fucking around with Jongin, of course I wouldn’t stand to sleep under the same roof as you. Then you go and invite _Sehun_ to a _performance_ of ours without even informing me that we have a fucking _performance?!”_

Oh, _dammit._ Screw Oh Sehun and his big mouth.

Angrily, Kyungsoo takes off his kitchen mittens. He throws them down on the dinner table, and they land with a _whoop_.

For a second, Chanyeol thinks he might walk out, but he just turns around and tries to reach for the plates on the top shelf.

“You ghosted me for _days._ ” Chanyeol counters pettily. “I couldn’t even see you or talk to you!”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t really make an effort to try and apologize, did you?” Kyungso huffs, struggling on his toes. “I always knew you were a coward, Chanyeol, but why can’t you man up to your mistakes sometimes? I mean, you’ve changed since last time, sure, but really? You practically threw yourself down the stairs when you saw me last Tuesday…fuck!”

Kyungsoo steps back and slams his palms against the counter. Chanyeol flinches. His eyes meet Kyungsoo, and he’s surprised to see that the anger has dissipated a little. They’re misty with tears, even.

“Just…shit, can you get the plates, please?” Kyungsoo says meekly, all anger drained from his tone.

It takes Chanyeol a second to just lose it.

“I’m so sorry, Soo.” he laughs, surging forward and scooping Kyungsoo up in his arms. Kyungsoo squeaks, and okay, maybe Chanyeol is tearing up a little, because _fuck._ He was so nervous. “I’m an asshole, I’m really sorry…”

Dammit, he’s got an entire speech for this. A Very Elaborate And Original Apology That Yixing Totally Didn’t Help Write. But right now, with Kyungsoo finally in his arms again, in his _sheer proximity,_ Chanyeol sort of loses his coherence.

Like always, all the things he wants the say to Kyungsoo—all his _feelings_ , they get stuck in his throat, and he just lets them settle there. Fill up his chest, make it grow so big from the love he can’t express.

So, he compromises. A hand on the waist translates to _I didn’t mean to hurt you,_ another settling behind the other’s neck is _I’m sorry, I should’ve trusted you more._ His nose, nuzzling the smaller’s neck, a silent _I missed you._ Their foreheads, knocked together. An unspoken _I love you._

Chanyeol just hopes Kyungsoo knows him enough to understand what these gestures mean to him.

They just sort of stand there awkwardly for a few moments, Kyungsoo probably taken aback at the sudden affection. The hand he runs up and down Chanyeol’s back is comforting. It’s only when he feels things suddenly getting hotter underneath his collar that Chanyeol steps away.

“I’m really sorry, Soo.” Chanyeol says genuinely.

Kyungsoo tries to keep looking angry, but a tiny smile is already cracking his façade.

“Apology yet to be accepted,” he says. “Get me the plates first, then I’ll consider it again.”

 

…..

 

Kyungsoo’s cooked a big batch of his signature _kimchi_ spaghetti. There’s more than enough left after the two of them eat, so they keep the leftovers in airtight containers and stash them away into the fridge for Baekhyun and Jongdae, who’ll probably arrive late at night, hungry from their four-hour shift.

“I’m still mad, you know,” Kyungsoo huffs. They’ve moved to the living room, snuggled together on the couch and watching reruns of some variety show, like nothing’s happened. “But I’m sorry, too.”

“I’m sorry for always bothering you.” Chanyeol says honestly. It’s been bothering him since Kyungsoo said it out loud.

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Chanyeol…I’m sorry for saying that. I didn’t mean it. Look, it gets annoying sometimes, how you and Dae and Baek keep acting like I can’t handle myself, but I don’t hate you for it, okay? It doesn’t burden me. Pisses me off sometimes, yeah, but you’re not a bother to me, okay? I get that you’re a jealous prick who needs to act out sometimes.”

Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly at that last part, and Chanyeol manages an unsure smile. Suddenly, he remembers the day before. The image of Kyungsoo and Jongin, sitting so close together, hands clasped in each other’s sincerely. He gulps.

“It’s just—” Chanyeol catches himself. _I don’t like seeing you with someone else._ He finishes in his head. He’s just made amends with Kyungsoo, like, five seconds ago. No point in starting something new.

“Just what?” Kyungsoo asks curiously. Chanyeol waves his hand in the air dismissively, and smiles.

_Focus on the good things, Yeol, like the fact that you’re by his side again._

“If this is _still_ about Jongin and Sehun,” Kyungsoo beats him to the punch. “I’m going to, like, lose it.”

Chanyeol just sort of looks at him apologetically.

Kyungsoo takes in a deep breath, as if to calm himself. “ _Look,”_ he says rather pointedly, “I know I don’t usually express it in the ways you want to, but you’re important to me, okay, Chanyeol? You’re my best friend, we’ve been together for years. Do you honestly think I’d choose a pair of annoying freshmen over you?”

“You chose Kim Woobin over me for prom,” Chanyeol deadpans.

Kyungsoo sits up abruptly. “Hey, to be fair, it was Kim Woobin,” he blinks. “And don’t act like you didn’t have a blast being Park Sandara’s date for the night.”

“People thought we were _cousins,”_ Chanyeol whines, secretly liking the grin that blooms on Kyungsoo’s face.

“Well, anyway, we were sixteen and didn’t know any better. My point is, Chanyeol…” to Chanyeol’s surprise, Kyungsoo takes his hand and holds it between his two palms.

“My point is, you’re like, a huge portion of my life.” Kyungsoo says, painfully sincere, if the slight tremor in his voice and tremble in his grip say so. “And nobody’s going to replace somebody as important as you.”

Is it just him or did Kyungsoo’s mouth fall open just a little? Chanyeol can feel his heart beating faster.

“My best friend.” Kyungsoo says flatly.

Chanyeol laughs, internally berating himself for getting his hopes up.

Kyungsoo pouts. “H-Hey, why are you laughing?”

“Nothing! _Ahhhhh!”_ he surges forward and tackles Kyungsoo, laughing as Kyungsoo screams and they sink further into the couch.

“I missed you so much, Kyungsoo-yah!” he laughs, knowing that it’s a little too sincere to be brushed off by a laugh, but he doesn’t care. There’s still a longing in his heart accompanying the secrets he buries in his chest, but as he holds down his best friend squirming out of his grasp, it placates him, just a bit.

 

…..

 

Hours later, with lots of catching up in between, a thought hits Chanyeol like a lightning bolt.

“Oh, the gig this Friday!” Chanyeol bolts up from his place on the couch. Kyungsoo is sitting back lazily, and looks at him all bored like he’d been waiting for him to bring that up. “Yeah. At Junmyeon’s, right?”

“At Junmyeon’s _rich friend’s_ bar, actually.” Chanyeol replies, buzzing with excitement at the thought of a crowd. “I mean, I know it’s sudden, but we know _Sing For You_ like the back of our hands, right? Oh, wait, I should probably call hyung to let him know we’ll come—”

“I haven’t agreed yet, you know.”

Chanyeol’s blood freezes over. He turns to Kyungsoo. “W-What?”

Kyungsoo stars up at him blankly. Then scoffs out a laugh. “Just pulling your leg. When are we going to practice? We only have a day left.”

“Christ, Kyungsoo, don’t scare me like that,” Chanyeol laughs, hand against his chest. He glances over to the wall clock they have right above the TV. Then he turns to Kyungsoo, bouncing on his heels.

“C’mon, get up.”

“But _why?”_ Kyungsoo says petulantly, like a child.

Chanyeol laughs fondly, and grabs his jacket from behind the couch. “Let’s go to the studio. Yoongi’ll be finishing up right now—we can have it all to ourselves.”

Immediately, Kyungsoo sits up, interest perked. “Why?” he asks again.

“I was thinking,” Chanyeol puts on his jacket, his actions rushed, his mouth falling open hurriedly to keep up with his thoughts. “That, like, it would suck if we only played _Sing For You,_ right? So maybe, we can play other songs. Our other covers. Then, as a finale, we can play something new. Something nobody’s heard from us.”

A grin spreads across Chanyeol’s face as Kyungsoo’s eyes widen at the realization.

“C’mon,” Chanyeol says cheekily, trying to pull Kyungsoo up from the couch. “We’ve got class in ten hours—I’m sure we can finish a song somewhere in between.”

 

…..

 

Spring of senior year, shortly after classes had started, brought the uncertainty of the future ahead of them. College applications had just opened, but Chanyeol had been reluctant to even apply for anything.

“What’s the point? My dad wants me to study in schools with shitty music programs.” Chanyeol had often said angrily, whenever they’d gather around to discuss plans.

Of colleges they’d all apply for and go to, if they’re lucky.

Of how to meet somewhere in the middle, make time for each other, if they’re not.

“Seoul University has a great music program,” Jongdae tries to supply helpfully, always. “Theater, too. We can all apply there, if music’s what you want to do.”

Chanyeol shakes his head ruefully each time. “I _want to,_ but you know my dad. It’s either business management or nothing at all.”

“Shame,” Baekhyun comments. “You would’ve played the ‘broke college musician’ role down to a T, Yeol-o.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun both laugh. Kyungsoo just stares back at Chanyeol, sympathy etched across his face.

“You know…you can always do business management and sideline with music.” Kyungsoo says one day, during their daily walk home where their figures cast shadows against the fading orange hues of the setting sun. “Don’t be stubborn. I’m sure your parents are just looking out for your future as well.”

“It’s not about that, Soo.” Chanyeol sighs, kicking a stray pebble on the ground. “I don’t mind him picking a school for me. I just wish they’d believe in me when I promise not to mess around with music, you know? I’m actually serious about this.”

He pouts, stuffing his hands into his windbreaker. Kyungsoo watches him carefully.

“Have they ever heard you play?” he asks.

“Only Yura,” Chanyeol replies. “She’s my only willing audience most of the time.”

Kyungsoo purses his lips. It puckers into its infamous heart shape. “You should compose a song. That’ll show them.”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol hums in reply.

“Post it on Youtube. Maybe you’ll get viral or something. Everybody already likes your ten-second covers on Instagram.”

“You should sing for me,” Chanyeol jokes. “I like your voice. Maybe everyone else would, too.”

“Me? Sing for you? Your baritone puts me to shame, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol can feel his cheeks heat up. “Stop it, you,” he laughs, slapping Kyungsoo’s arm.

“It’s true? Remember when you did a cover of _Stay With Me?_ Your voice really sounded like the guy who was accompanying PUNCH. Better, even.”

Kyungsoo turns to him happily. “Hey, listen to this. ‘Vocalist Park Chanyeol’—” raises both hands, as if imagining it on a marquee. “Wow, what a concept.”

Chanyeol’s heart beats faster when Kyungsoo’s full cheeks squish his eyes, flashing him his million-dollar grin.

“Ahhh, stop it!” Chanyeol whines, laughing, hoping that Kyungsoo wouldn’t misinterpret why he’s blushing so hard.

Kyungsoo laughs and elbows him playfully. “But, seriously, you should compose something. Maybe your parents would let you do what you want if they see how talented Vocalist Park Chanyeol is.”

Chanyeol considers it carefully. Slowly turns to Kyungsoo. “I’ll consider it,” he says solemnly, “only if you duet with me.”

Kyungsoo sees the pensive look on his face. _Say yes, say yes,_ Chanyeol thinks, _prays_ , hoping that he’ll Jedi Mind Trick the fuck out of him. _I really wanna do this with you. Say yes. Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure. Anything, Soo._

“Sure,” Kyungsoo says. “I mean, how hard can it be, right?”

 

…..

 

In winter, _Sing For You_ gets one thousand views.

“Kyungsoo is so cute!” Yura gushes, trying hard not to look at the video too long in favor of keeping her eyes on the road. “He’s just nodding along to everything you say, Yeol. And when he looks at the camera, his face is so blank. You couldn’t tell what he’s thinking.”

From the backseat, Kyungsoo groans, trying to hide his face further into his neck pillow. “You should’ve blurred out my face,” he whines.

Chanyeol turns up the volume of his phone even more. “Are you kidding me? Half of the comments are, like, people asking me about my cute best friend.” he laughs.

“You’re so awkward, Soo.” Jongdae laughs, cooing at the phone in Chanyeol’s hand. “You look so nervous! It’s a miracle your voice is so steady.”

Kyungsoo whoops Jongdae’s head with his neck pillow. “It’s called ‘professionalism’. I didn’t do vocal training for nothing.”

Baekhyun, who was previously bouncing in his seat, bounces even faster now. “How long ‘till we get to Seoul?”

“Three hours,” Yura says. “We’ll keep streaming Yeol and Kyungsoo’s video during then.”

“Kyungsoo, were you even blinking during the intro?”

Kyungsoo makes a low animal noise. “OH MY GOD JONGDAE SHUT UP.”

Chanyeol laughs along with everybody in the car. He lays down his phone on the holder up on the console, so everybody can see.

The video finally transitions from their intro to them singing. Compared to the first half of the video, Kyungsoo is much more at ease now, still shooting nervous looks at the camera, but progressively losing himself in the song and nodding along to Chanyeol plucking at the strings of his sticker-ridden guitar.

When the chorus starts and Chanyeol finally accompanies him as a second voice with his low baritone, Kyungsoo closes his eyes and puts his hand over his heart, singing the song as if it were an anthem, a praise song, a spell he’s casting to unwittingly draw Chanyeol’s heart closer to him.

The Chanyeol in the video may not notice it, his own eyes closed as he strums and sings, but the Chanyeol in the car can see the emotion and soul Kyungsoo pours into every word.

Even though it’s Chanyeol who’s written the lyrics and arranged the music, his own love and fondness seeping in between the spaces of the words and notes, when Kyungsoo sings it, it’s almost as if he’s drawing out the words straight from his own thoughts. His own feelings.

His own heart. When he says, _just listen, I’ll sing for you,_ Chanyeol’s falls further in love.

Over the course of their three-hour drive to Seoul University, Jongdae and Baekhyun fall asleep, Kyungsoo reviews his notes, Yura talks about work, and the video keeps playing as background noise to their small group inside the car.

Chanyeol never gets tired of the look on Kyungsoo’s face. _Just listen, I’ll sing for you._

When the entrance exam results come out three months later, _Sing For You_ hits ten thousand views. Chanyeol bugs his parents enough to let him juggle both business management and music (with the promise that he’ll fuck neither up), Kyungsoo drags him to a craft store and takes him to the stickers section.

He buys Chanyeol this weird-ass sticker of an astronaut seemingly talking to a whale while floating in outer space. Chanyeol is really weirded out by his taste, but when Kyungsoo excitedly slaps it across Chanyeol’s guitar and writes _Sing For You_ underneath, he smiles so brightly Chanyeol doesn’t mind that a fucking whale is ruining the rocker aesthetic of his guitar.

“The first of many songs,” Kyungsoo says proudly, his chest practically puffing out as he steps back and examines Chanyeol holding his guitar. “Vocalist Park Chanyeol is going to take over the world.”

Chanyeol really wants to kiss him right there and then. Instead, he slings and arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders and plants a sloppy, friendly smack behind his ear. Kyungsoo screams, and Chanyeol laughs, “Seoul University first, though.” he ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair. “Vocalist Park Chanyeol is going to take over Seoul University before anything else.”

“I’ll do my best to support you, then.” Kyungsoo beams. “I won’t give up if you don’t give up.”

Chanyeol takes a shaky breath in. Smiles.

_Oh, Kyungsoo, the things you do to my heart._

“I won’t give up if you won’t give up.”

 

…..

 

“Something sounds off,” Kyungsoo says, sighing and taking the huge headphones off his head.

“Oh?” Chanyeol does likewise calmly, but his palms are sweating. “It sounds fine to me. No _Sing for You,_ but it’s pretty good considering that we’ve only been working for a few hours.”

“Yeah, but…I dunno. Maybe I’m just tired.”

“Do you want to have something delivered?”

“Psssh. Let’s just walk to the store.”

The convenience store clerk at the check-out counter is half-asleep, barely noticing the two of them entering the store. When Chanyeol jokes about making a run for it with their basket full of junk food, Kyungsoo kicks his shin and makes him pay for everything.

Despite the cold, they eat at one of the foldable tables set up outside, joining a couple’s late-night rendezvous. Chanyeol tries to ignore the excessive PDA, instead tries to focus on the cute pout of Kyungsoo’s lips as he cools his cup of instant noodles.

“Hey, by the way, you’re going home for Christmas break, right?” Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol’s eyes immediately dart away and pretend to inspect a speck of dirt on their table. “Huh? Oh, yeah.”

“Me, too. Should I get two bus tickets?”

“If you could…oh, do you want Yura to pick us up, maybe?”

“I dunno. Is she okay with that?”

“On second thought, she might launch into a lecture about us being too old to be driven around like teenagers…”

“Well, she’s got a point.”

“How about Seungsoo?”

“He’s not coming home this year. He’s spending Christmas overseas with his family.”

Chanyeol doesn’t know why he does it. Thoughtlessly, he says, “Maybe you can bring Jongin home with you, then?”

Kyungsoo coughs. “Why the _hell_ would I bring Jongin home for the holidays?”

“Uh, to meet your parents?” _Isn’t that what couples do?_ Chanyeol’s not sure. He’s never brought anyone home for the holidays, but that’s what they do in the movies.

Kyungsoo is still hacking like he wants to throw up his innards all over the table. He reaches for his water bottle, but can’t get the cap off. He extends it to Chanyeol and without a word, Chanyeol twists the cap off effortlessly.

“Okay, first of all,” Kyungsoo finally says once he’s gotten to drink. “Jongin has his own family to celebrate Christmas with. Second, why the _hell_ would I bring him home for the holidays? Have you taken Jongdae or Baekhyun to celebrate Christmas with you?”

“No?” Chanyeol says, unsure of where this conversation is going.

“Exactly. Why would I take _Jongin_ home for Christmas, then?”

Chanyeol’s mouth suddenly feels a little dry. “Because you’re…dating?”

Kyungsoo chokes louder than before. “D-Dating? Who told you that? Was it Sehun!? I swear, that little shit…”

“Nobody told me!” Chanyeol says. “I saw it with my two eyes, okay? You two were holding hands in the cafeteria the other day.” then, in a much softer voice, “You don’t have to keep it a secret. I’m a little sensitive about it, but you don’t have to _hide_ it from me.”

“Secret? What—Why—” A hundred different emotions flicker across Kyungsoo’s face. “ _Chanyeol,”_ he finally says, serious, matching the pensive look on his face. “Oh my god, you’re so stupid.”

“H-Hey,” Chanyeol frowns, mildly offended.

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says again, reaching out to hold Chanyeol’s wrist in a vice-grip. “Jongin and I are _not_ dating,”

Chanyeol’s mind kind of just short-circuits. “W-What?”

“I don’t think there’s actually a kinder way to put it, but simply speaking, I don’t want to date him.” Kyungsoo says, matter-of-factly. “I never wanted to date him, actually.”

“But he asked you out…”

“That was my mistake. I thought he meant something like, a friendly date or something.” Kyungsoo sighs and runs a hand through his ( _fluffy—no, Chanyeol, stop—)_ hair. “He’s a really good friend. He’s quiet, understands me on a lot of levels, but I don’t really see him _that_ way. He’s like a brother to me. I panicked when Sehun talked to me about it and I realized that Jongin’s intentions were actually…romantic…”

Kyungsoo blushes, and Chanyeol wants to slap himself for the giddy feeling that rises in his chest.

“Anyway, I fucked up and caused a big misunderstanding for everybody, but it’s all good now.” Kyungsoo explains. “The time he got drunk, we talked the entire night. Jongin and I are…on a break? With our friendship? He took the rejection pretty well but it’s a little awkward now, you know. He’s still coming tomorrow, though.” he checks his watch. “Later, to the show, I mean.”

“But why?” Chanyeol says, sounding disappointed, and Kyungsoo slaps his arm.

“Because we’re friends! I just told you that I’m not interested in him, were you even listening?”

He slaps Chanyeol in the arm a few more times, for good measure, and despite the sting, Chanyeol has bells ringing in his head. _Happy-sounding bells._

 _Kyungsoo’s single._ Chanyeol has no intention to ever date his best friend (he could just imagine what a disaster that would be) but the idea has him filling up with so much happiness.

“So,” Chanyeol says, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face. “like, does that mean you guys are gonna stop looking like drama leads studying under trees now?”

“I don’t even want to know why you know about us studying under trees, Chanyeol.”

“Just answer the damn question, Soo.”

“No, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “We’ll still study under trees like drama leads. I actually help Jongin and Sehun with their studies, you know?”

“Dammit.” Well, at least he tried. “You’ll start hanging out with me and the guys again though, right? We miss you.”

“I’m an asshole—I’m sorry for ditching you guys so often. I promise I’ll spend significantly more time with you now so your jealous asses won’t be all over me every time I come home.”

Kyungsoo chuckles to himself at his joke. Chanyeol thinks it’s crazy. He’s so _happy._ So much, that he doesn’t mind that the couple from earlier are practically eating each other’s faces now.

They finish their food and start walking on back towards the studio. As they make their way through the quiet neighborhood, the sounds of the city a muffled white noise somewhere in the distance, Chanyeol listens to Kyungsoo talk and hears song lyrics. He watches his best friend walk beside him, and hears a piano playing, very faintly, and he’s not sure if the increased pace in his heartbeat is because of the painful fondness he has for the person beside him, or the excitement he has for the sudden inspiration of a melody.

When they arrive at the complex, Chanyeol starts rushing Kyungsoo up the flight of stairs towards the studio.

“Chanyeol, what the hell, what’s the rush?” Kyungsoo says, mildly irritated. Chanyeol just gives him a playful grin as he brings out his keys.

“Look, this is going to sound crazy, but I got hit by an—epiphany, is that what they call it? I got hit by an epiphany while walking. I know it’s a little too much to ask of you, Kyungsoo, but—” he laughs at the glare his best friend shoots him.

“I need you to shut up and trust me, okay? If all goes well, we’ll have this song finished in three hours. Enough for us to take a nap _and_ have breakfast later. Are you game?”

Kyungsoo sighs. “As much as I’m reluctant to…” he nods his head. “Lead the way.”


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning, Chanyeol wakes up curled up in the office chair in front of his recording equipment. A few meters away from him, Kyungsoo is draped over the black leather couch, still asleep.

Chanyeol moves his mouse, and his laptop wakes up, opening it to the finished product of their all-nighter.

Chanyeol smiles. _For Life._ He hovers the cursor over the track and clicks play.

He lets the song play in the background as he cleans up last night’s mess. It’s nothing much, just some snacks and a few water bottles here and there. His shoulders are stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position, and his neck is killing him. When he shakes Kyungsoo awake, the painful groan from his best friend tells him that it’s likewise for him.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol tries again when Kyungsoo swats his hand away. “Let’s go. We’ve both got class at eight.”

“What time is it?” Kyungsoo whines petulantly, like a child. Chanyeol wants to litter his face with kisses.

“Six.” he says instead.

Kyungsoo sits up. His cropped hair is sticking up all over the place, and his eyes are puffy and lined with bags. “Let’s go home.” he says. Thankfully, his voice is as smooth as always. “Let’s skip class.”

“W-What?”

“Let’s go home and sleep. Fuck, Chanyeol, you don’t expect us to go through today’s classes _and_ perform later, do you? I’m practically half-dead as it is.”

“I’m not! I’m just surprised you’d actually be down for skipping class…”

Kyungsoo stares at him blankly. “We skipped class a lot in freshman year.”

“I know, but we made a pact never to do it again, right?”

“This is an exception,” Kyungsoo yawns. “This is you and me investing our energy in something that will benefit us more than school.”

“Well, if you put it that way…” Chanyeol shakes his head. “Wow, you talking me into skipping class…it feels like the tables have turned.”

Kyungsoo sleeps on his shoulder while waiting for the bus, on the bus, and on the elevator ride up to their apartment. When the elevator doors open, Jongdae and Baekhyun are there, gawking at them like they’ve just seen a ghost.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says, casually, still draped over Chanyeol with his head on his shoulders.

“Where have you _been?!”_ Jongdae exclaims. “We’ve been worried sick about you two!”

“Had some real _yandere_ scenarios made up in our heads.” Baekhyun supplies helpfully.

At this point, the doors start closing again, so Chanyeol reaches his hands out and keep them from closing.

“We’ve been composing at the studio,” Chanyeol explains. He doesn’t miss how the other two’s eyes keep darting back and forth between him Kyungsoo. “We gonna rest up. Take notes for us, guys.”

“See you at the Elyxion at eight,” Kyungsoo calls softly as they step out of the elevator.

“You’re SKIPPING CLASS?!” is the last they hear from the two before the doors close behind them.

In their room, Kyungsoo closes the drapes and Chanyeol sets an alarm for five. He’s about to go to sleep when he notices Kyungsoo with his arm out, reaching for him, palms up. Wordlessly, Chanyeol takes it, and for a moment they lie there. On their respective beds, their hands joined in the gap that separates them.

“Are you nervous?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Fuck yeah, I am,” Chanyeol laughs. “It’s been a while.”

“Mm. I’m sure you’ll do great. You’re the best at improvising on-the-spot.”

“Gee, thanks. That totally gives me a hundred percent confidence in my abilities.”

“Give yourself some credit. Stop being so insecure.”

Even with his eyes closed, Chanyeol winces. “Ow, foul, Kyungsoo.”

“It’s true? Why do you have to go around acting like you’ve got nothing to offer when in fact you’ve got so much?”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”

“Uh, duh? I’m saying this _because_ I’m your best friend. It’s my job to keep you from descending into an eternal pit of self-pity.”

“You’re doing a shitty job of it right now, Soo.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “Seriously, though. You’ll do great as always, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol hums, already half-asleep. “It’s a lot bearable since you’re with me, though…”

A pause. “Yeah…?”

“I feel like…anything’s possible when I’m with you…” Chanyeol mumbles. “Mmm…good night, Soo.”

Chanyeol drifts off to sleep, grip tightening around Kyungsoo’s one last time before he lets go and turns to his side. He doesn’t notice Kyungsoo staring up at the ceiling blanky, arm limp right beside him.

“God, you’re such an idiot.” Kyungsoo says, closing his eyes. “Always saying things like that…”

 

……

 

“It’s cold.” Kyungsoo says.

Immediately, Chanyeol moves to take his sweater off, but Sehun beats him to it.

“Here,” Sehun says, handing over his own white Supreme jacket. Chanyeol’s so jealous of the collarbones protruding from the low dip of his black V-neck. “It’s getting kinda hot underneath my collar, anyway.”

“Thanks.”

When Kyungsoo shrugs the bomber jacket on, Chanyeol wants to scream. It’s too big for him. It might’ve been snug on Sehun’s long, lanky body, but on Kyungsoo, the sleeves barely let his hands peek through, and it sort of looks like a blanket that’s been thrown over him.

“It looks good on you,” he says. _But my sweater would’ve looked better._

For a soft opening, Junmyeon’s friend’s bar— _Siwon,_ Chanyeol thinks his name is—is packed. It’s a good thing that they were texted beforehand to dress up like they’re not broke college students—what Chanyeol had assumed to be a lowkey, humble place turned out to be a high-end bistro who had a jazz band instead of an indie one playing in one corner, and a bar whose drinks probably cost Chanyeol’s share of their monthly rent.

 “Chanyeol, your collar’s getting sloppy again,” Kyungsoo says. He reaches up and fixes it for him.

“Thanks.” Chanyeol replies, curtly.

“Nervous? You should be.” Sehun points to a corner. “See those lovely ladies there?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the group of girls sitting at a table. “Holy shit…is that Bae Irene? From Perfect Velvet radio?”

“Yep.” Sehun says, popping the p. “She’s here for a network coverage, apparently.”

“Dude, she’s my favorite midnight DJ.” As if on cue, Irene turns her head towards their direction, and smiles at Chanyeol, seemingly recognizing him.

“ _Holy shit.”_ Chanyeol breathes out, grabbing Sehun’s arm and stumbling. “Catch me, I think I’m going to faint.”

“You’ll be on stage in an hour.” Sehun deadpans.

“Where’s Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks, looking kind of pissed that he can’t relate to their conversation of underground radio station DJs.

Sehun shrugs, “On his way.” Suddenly his phone notifies him of text. He frowns at his little black gadget.

“ _Hyung,”_ he whines, suddenly sidling up against Kyungsoo’s side. Immediately, all thoughts of Bae Irene leave Chanyeol’s head. “Your friend keeps texting me. Tell him to stop.”

“Who, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo takes Sehun’s phone, and Chanyeol looks over his shoulder and reads the convo.

 

**_Unknown number_ **

So, like, what’s your shoe size?

not implying that I’m going to buy you shoes or anything

Just curious

a lot of people say that tall guys have big…

feet

Chanyeol’s tall and his feet are HUGE

but jongdae’s shoe size is kinda big too

along with his feet

do you get me?????

please answer my question, I need it for research.

 

“Wow,” Chanyeol pulls away, cringing. “Do you ever wonder about Baekhyun’s phone bill sometimes?”

Kyungsoo hands the phone back to Sehun. “Don’t worry, he’s all bark and no bite.” he says. “Flirting is like a second nature to him.”

“You should take him out on a date,” Chanyeol suggests, because he’s a good friend, and he remembers how insanely interested Baekhyun is in Sehun. “He’s actually really sweet, once you get to know him.”

Both Kyungsoo and Sehun stare at him blankly.

“W-What?” Chanyeol says.

“Is dating really the only thing he thinks about?” Sehun asks, turning to Kyungsoo.

“Wh--!”

“Just because Sehun’s really hot doesn’t mean he’s always dating people.” Kyungsoo says, and Chanyeol thinks, _okay, now that seems like an unnecessary comment, don’tcha think, Soo?_

 “Oh, Jongin’s here,” Sehun says. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo turn their heads to see Jongin walking into the bistro. Looking as fine as Sehun, brown leather jacket and thrown over a blue polo shirt. Chanyeol finds it really, really unfair that he’s so effortlessly good-looking.

Jongin walks over to them.

“Is that my jacket?” is the first thing he says to Kyungsoo. Chanyeol knows the jealous glint in his eyes all too well.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “Got it from Sehun.”

“Stop stealing my clothes!”

Sehun shrugs as well, frighteningly similar to Kyungsoo “Stop stealing my shoes,” he says pointedly to Jongin’s feet.

Jongin huffs. “Whatever.” His eyes meet Chanyeol’s, and for a moment Chanyeol sees a surprised glint of recognition in his gaze.

“Hi, hyung.” Jongin says to him shyly.

Chanyeol blinks. “Hey,” he says. It’s awkward, at first, then he adds, “Did my notes help you?”

Jongin smiles. “Yeah. Thanks for that.”

Chanyeol laughs. “I’m glad. Mostly relieved that you managed to decipher my handwriting, but you know. Also glad.” Chanyeol feels a weight being lifted off his chest when Jongin chuckles a bit. Everything’s chill.

Kyungsoo, who had been watching the exchange like he’d been watching a bomb about to explode, gently tugs at Jongin’s sleeve. “Jongin, can we talk?”

Jongin, despite being taller and broader and really frighteningly handsome, sort of crumbles at Kyungsoo’s touch. Chanyeol feels sorry for the kid. He kind of relates on a spiritual level.

When Jongin nods slowly, Sehun turns to Chanyeol. “Let’s go get some drinks.”

“Aren’t you underage?”

“I’ll go get some milk for myself, then.” Sehun grumbles, and grabs Chanyeol by the arm.

They perch themselves on the stools right in front of the counter, drink in hand (Chanyeol used his I.D to buy Sehun a White Russian). A few people from the university are hanging around, and they swing by to give Chanyeol their compliments. Junmyeon swings by with Siwon the owner in tow, and they chat for a few minutes.

“Don’t forget me when you’re famous.” Sehun says when Junmyeon and Siwon leave to entertain more guests.

Chanyeol is laughing when he turns to him. “Of course I won’t. I don’t forget my friends.”

Sehun sort of freezes up when he says that.

“Hey, you okay?” Chanyeol says, eyebrows scrunched in worry. Did he say something wrong?

Sehun shakes his head. When he takes a sip of his drink, there’s a slight smile on his face. “Nah,” he says. “I’m just glad.”

Chanyeol feels like there’s something more there, but he doesn’t pry. Let Sehun open up in his own pace.

He scans the room for any sign of Kyungsoo and Jongin. They stepped out of the bistro earlier to talk, and until now they’re still nowhere to be found. Chanyeol’s doesn’t want his brain to start suggesting things other than _talking_ , but it does anyway, and it really saddens the _hell_ out of him.

His sulking must’ve been obvious, because Sehun nudges him and he almost drops his drink in surprise.

“If you zone out like that on stage I’m going to laugh and forget that you’re my friend.” he says.

“S-Sorry,” Chanyeol sputters. “Kyungsoo and Jongin…are they back yet?”

Sehun watches him carefully for a few seconds, before suddenly asking, “Hyung, you know that literally everyone except you and Kyungsoo-hyung know that you like him, right?”

It sort of feels like his blood has turned into ice. “What’re you talking about?” Chanyeol laughs. “I think you need to switch your drink out now. Bartender, do you have a glass of milk?”

Sehun’s gaze on him remains unmoved. He starts tapping the rim of his drink. “You two are a mess, I swear.” he rolls his eyes. “Always denying your feelings like they’re not _right fucking there._ You know, there was a time, too, when Jongin and I had so much sexual tension between us. You know what we did?”

“You fucked?” Chanyeol supplies.

“No. We talked things out like _adults_ and tried to date.”

Chanyeol almost spat his drink out. “You and Jongin _dated?!”_

“Yeah. But it’s ancient history now.” Sehun waves his drink in the air, as if to wave off some sort of unpleasant air. “And look at us. It didn’t work out, but see—we’re fine. Anyway, I’m not saying that things will go well if you _do_ decide to tell Kyungsoo-hyung about your feelings, but it’s honestly just really bad for you if you keep it all in, okay? Kinda fucks you up, hyung—I’m already seeing a bit of that. You’re best friends, right? Can’t you trust him to at least value your feelings enough for him to discuss it respectfully with you?”

Sehun takes a sip of his drink. Chanyeol’s jaw is left hanging.

“Didn’t want to be preachy,” Sehun says lowly. “But I had a feeling it had to be said?”

“You’re not the first one to tell me that,” Chanyeol whispers, remembering the whole plethora of friends who’ve sat him down and gave him the exact same lecture.

“Well, why haven’t you been listening? Talk to Kyungsoo-hyung, for god’s sake. Pining is overrated.” At Chanyeol’s silence, Sehun raises an eyebrow.

“You’re really mature, Sehun-ah,” Chanyeol laughs. He ruffles the other’s hair, much to the younger’s protest.

They deviate from the topic of Kyungsoo for a bit, talking about mundane stuff like typical friends do. Chanyeol sort of forgets the fact that Kyungsoo is AWOL with Jongin. Sehun is a welcome distraction.

The younger boy is in mid-laugh at a joke Chanyeol’s made when his face suddenly freezes up.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol says, worried.

“Hyung. Bae Irene is walking towards us.”

“ _What?”_ Chanyeol freaks, turning his head suddenly, suddenly face-to-face with the gorgeous midnight DJ everybody practically fawns over every night.

“Hi. Park Chanyeol, right?” Irene smiles, radiant and beautiful underneath the bright yellow lights of the bistro.

 

“Uh,” Chanyeol nods dumbly. Sehun is reduced to a breathy, laughing mess beside him.

“I’m Irene from Perfect Velvet Radio.” Wow, her eyes really pretty. A close competition with Kyungsoo’s. “I was wondering if you were up for an interview? We want to feature you in our new up-and-coming indie artists segment.”

At that, Chanyeol immediately sobers up and regains most of his coherence. “Um, wow,” he laughs, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. “Sure, I guess? As long as we won’t take long. We’ll be up soon.”

“Of course. Okay, I’m going to start recording now. Are you ready?”

It could be Chanyeol being biased, but Irene is _really good_ at her job. She’s charming without having to play up her beauty, and witty, too. Talking to her is a casual affair. She even lets Sehun engage in the conversation, after he lets it slip that they’re fans.

When the interview is over, Chanyeol is giddy and high from the validation he’s just received from someone he looks up to. “Can I have your number?” he blurts out suddenly to Irene, years of his hook-up routine suddenly surfacing yet again.

Irene laughs. “You’re cute.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“Yeah. But, um. I have a girlfriend?” she flashes her lockscreen wallpaper at him. “Her name’s Seulgi. She goes to the same university as you. Maybe you know her?”

The girl Irene is with on the screen is equally as pretty as her. “Uh, I think I’ve heard of her?”

“Don’t worry, hyung’s got a boyfriend, too.” Sehun says, suddenly snatching Chanyeol’s phone from his pocket. His lockscreen is a selca of him and Kyungsoo, barefaced and in bed.

“Wh—SEHUN-AH!!”

“He’s just really shy at admitting it to people,” Sehun deadpans.

“How did you know about my lockscneen?!”

“Like, duh. It’s your lockscreen. I see you staring at it everyday in class.”

“Stare at _what_ everyday?” a voice suddenly says behind them, and Chanyeol’s eyes widen. _I fucking dare you,_ his silent message to Sehun.

“Nothing,” Sehun says, closing Chanyeol’s phone and sliding it to him, face-down. Chanyeol catches it and shoves it into the deepest depths of his ass pocket.

“Chanyeol, come on,” Kyungsoo says, tugging at Chanyeol’s sleeve. Up at the stage, the band before them is finishing up their last song.

“Thanks for your time, Chanyeol-ah,” Irene says, getting up at the same time as they do. She reaches her hand out, and okay, maybe Chanyeol should’ve toned down his enthusiasm at shaking it a bit, because Kyungsoo is suddenly staring at their joined hands like it somehow morphed into a freakish, humanoid handshake.

Irene presses something into his palms before she walks away with a smile.

“What is it?” Sehun says, looking over Chanyeol’s shoulder to read with him.

“It’s her calling card,” Chanyeol says. “Holy shit,”

“I see your hookup game’s still strong, even after all these months.” Kyungsoo huffs, eyeing the card suspiciously.

Chanyeol pinches his best friend’s cheeks, which causes him to squeal. “You know I’m only yours for tonight, Soo.” he laughs.

Kyungsoo kind of chokes. Sehun hides a laugh behind his palm.

“Jongin’s already with Baek and the others, you should go and join them, Sehun-ah,” Kyungsoo says as he starts to drag Chanyeol towards the stage.

(To be fair, though, Chanyeol is letting himself get dragged.)

“I’m wishing you the best,” Sehun says. To both of them, actually, but the subtle message Sehun includes for him isn’t lost on Chanyeol.

Chanyeol gives him a thumbs-up. “We’ll try not to disappoint.”

 

…..

 

“That Irene girl is staring at you funny,” Kyungsoo says as he adjusts the mic stand. The lead singer from earlier had been tall as heck. Kyungsoo only comes up to where the other’s mouth had been.

“Yeah, well,” Chanyeol shoots a look over his shoulder from where he’s setting up his keyboard. Irene is back at her table, and she’s pointing at him, whispering something to a girl right next to her. Chanyeol recognizes her as the Seulgi girl from the DJ’s phone.

“To be fair, though,” Chanyeol shoots a lazy smirk to his best friend. “It’s really hard not to. I mean,” Chanyeol gestures to his entire Supreme-clad body. “I’m looking pretty fine tonight.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “And here I thought you’ve already changed…” he murmurs.

Chanyeol steps forward and gives Kyungsoo’s arm a light squeeze. “Hey,” he says. “What did you and Jongin talk about?”

Kyungsoo pauses. “Gave each other some closure.” he replies, lowly. Bordering meek. “I had to make sure he was okay with me dating somebody else. Somebody I like.”

Chanyeol’s heart drops. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” his best friend nods. There’s a flicker of determination in his eyes. “That person—he’s stupid as fuck sometimes, but he’d do anything for me. And honestly? I would, too.” Kyungsoo looks away. “He’s really important to me.”

Chanyeol’s heart is thundering as he watches Kyungsoo press his lips close to the microphone. “Good evening,” Kyungsoo croons to brightly-lit bistro. “Thanks for coming out tonight, everyone. I’m Do Kyungsoo, and this is my best friend, Park Chanyeol. We’re much honored to play in your prescience tonight.”

 

…..

 

As his gigs usually go, Chanyeol finds the crowd at The Elyxion a warm and receptive one. Probably because there’s Baekhyun and Jongdae screaming at the top of their lungs in one corner, probably because the crowd consisted of a lot of people from their uni, probably because everyone’s had one drink too many.  Either way, each song Chanyeol performs with Kyungsoo is met with an applause, wolf whistles, and just general appreciation.

When they finish their given set consisting of their covers plus Sing For You (he wanted to cry when people sang along), Chanyeol speaks for the first time.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” he says, grinning brightly. Beside him, Kyungsoo takes a swig of his water. “Ah, we’ve very overwhelmed with the love you’ve all been showing us tonight. To our friend, Junmyeon-ah! And his friend, Siwon-ssi, thank you for inviting us. Because it’s the opening night of what we hope to be everyone’s newest favorite bar, Kyungsoo-yah and I have prepared something special.”

Chanyeol glances over at Kyungsoo. The other makes no acknowledgement of him. His ears are red.

Chanyeol takes a deep breath in. “This next song—I wrote this with somebody in mind. For the past few months—no, for the past few years, this person has been by my side and vice versa, so I guess I’ve gotten used to calling him ‘mine’. Because truly, he’s my person. He’s the love of my life.”

From the back of the room, somebody sounding suspiciously like Baekhyun screams, “HOLY SHIT JONGDAE GET THIS ON CAMERA HURRY THE FUCK UP.”

Chanyeol “But lately, I’ve realized that I don’t have the right to call him that, because I’ve never fully faced my feelings for him before. I understand a lot of different things now. I understand that I can’t expect him to stay by my side forever, but…” he takes a shaky breath in. “I’ve also learned that I’m also willing to fight to keep him here. I’m willing to do anything to stay by his side.”

The audience stares back at him with blank expressions on their faces. To them, this is probably a cheesy intro to an equally cheesy love song they’re about to perform. Only a few people recognize the sincerity of his feelings. Baekhyun, Jongdae, Yixing, Sehun, even Jongin…

The looks on their faces tell Chanyeol that they’re hoping the best for him.

He’s hoping for the best, too.

Kyungsoo is still staring out into the crowd, unmoved, barely showing any emotion to what Chanyeol is saying. But he’s listening. Chanyeol knows he’s listening.

_That person—he’s stupid as fuck sometimes, but he’d do anything for me. And honestly? I would, too. He’s really important to me._

_You’re important to me, too._

Chanyeol leans into his mic and stares at the side of Kyungsoo’s face.

“To that person…I won’t give up if you don’t give up.”

And promptly, he starts to play the first few keys of _For Life._

 

…..

 

It’s official—Chanyeol is a big-headed asshole who’s too confident in himself.

What was he thinking, going out to perform a song they’ve only made twelve hours ago?

They didn’t even rehearse—Chanyeol knows that they’re good, but the chances of them fucking up is insanely high.

When Kyungsoo doesn’t sing on his cue, Chanyeol wants to slap himself.

He’s so _stupid._ Asking his best friend to just wing it for him. Of course Kyungsoo would need more time to prepare. Of _course_ Kyungsoo would freeze—who wouldn’t, if their best friend for god knows how long suddenly confessed to them, in front of practically everyone they know?

Chanyeol wants to kick himself. He doesn’t deserve the title of best friend. Not when he’s overlooked Kyungsoo’s childhood fear of crowds and confrontation.

Still, despite the major fuck-up, the show must go on. He leans forward and croons the first part of _For Life_ into the mic.

 

_This life has twist and turns_

_But it’s the sweetest mystery_

_When you’re with me_

He knows the lyrics like the back of his palm. They’re the culmination of all his years with Kyungsoo, after all.

He turns to his best friend and sees him just sitting there, looking down at his mic. Not shaking, thankfully, but frighteningly still.

Chanyeol’s heart drops.

_We say a thousand words_

_But no one else is listening_

_I will be._

 

Just when he’s about to give up, when he’s about to throw this incident out of the window and file it away as a failed attempt at confronting his feelings, Kyungsoo--- _oh, Kyungsoo—_ lifts up his mic to his lips and turns.

Sings, looking at Chanyeol right in the eye.

Singing for him.

 

_Every night and every day_

_No matter what may come our way_

_We’re in this thing together_

_The dark turns to light_

_We both come alive, tonight_

_I’m talking ‘bout forever_

 

The flight of his fingers across the keyboard is almost automatic. As he plays, Chanyeol lets Kyungsoo’s voice wash over him.

He’s always loved it. Kyungsoo’s voice, how it reminds him midnight car rides, shoes crammed together in a rack, shared earphones, shared clothes, hours at the studio, tangled legs underneath the blankets, hesitant touches…

Chanyeol loves Kyungsoo’s voice. Chanyeol loves _Kyungsoo._

And something in Kyungsoo’s eyes is telling him that everything’s going to be alright tonight.

 

 

…..

 

 

When the song ends, the crowd gives a polite applause. The people they know are whooping and hollering, and Siwon comes up to the stage to thank them.

But Chanyeol drowns them all out. All he can see—all he _wants_ to see—are the bright rays emanating from Kyungsoo’s smile.

"We should kiss." Chanyeol jokes when they step off the stage. "Just to...you know, cap off a great night."

His heart rate shoots through the roof when Kyungsoo laughs that gorgeous laugh of his. He legitimately stops breathing when Kyungsoo leans forward and kisses him.

“HOLY SHIT!!” Baekhyun screams from somewhere in the room. “GOD BLESS KOREA!!!!!!”

 

…..

 

 

In all honesty, Chanyeol’s imagined this scene a thousand times before.

The two of them, kissing.

Sometimes, the scenes are innocent, like the them right now: Chanyeol, cupping Kyungsoo’s face, gentle with the way he presses the kisses, gentle with the way he brushes his thumbs against the other’s cheeks. Sort of like his feelings, most of the time. Overwhelming fondness and just the general urge to treat Kyungsoo like the most important person in the world (he is.)

But occasionally, of course, Chanyeol’s manly hormones get the best of him, and his thoughts go on a less-than-pure turn.

(Pushing Kyungsoo against the wall, drinking in his sigh, pressing open-mouthed kisses against his lips, his jaw, his neck, his chest—)

(Kyungsoo, under him, singing his name, begging, crying, spreading his legs—)

But, alas, all Chanyeol is capable of doing as of the moment is to pull away and say, “Can I hold your hand?”

Kyungsoo laughs. “You can do more than hold my hand.”

“Oh?” _Oh god oh god oh god._ When did his best friend become so _sexy_?

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo grins, taking Chanyeol’s hand in his. “You can buy me a drink, and we can talk.”

Chanyeol gulps. “Talk about what?”

“Feelings.” Kyungsoo’s gaze falls to the floor. “There’s a lot of stuff I want to tell you, like—”

“I love you?” Chanyeol supplies, hopefully.

Kyungsoo blushes. “Not really. More like—actually—uh—”

“Can I kiss you again?” Really. He just can’t help it.

Kyungsoo gives him a shy smile.  “I’m all yours.”

Chanyeol laughs, pulling Kyungsoo into a hug. _Me, too._ He thinks. _For Life._


End file.
